My Life Would Suck Without You
by HBIC-Santana
Summary: Santana Lopez had lots of things going for her. Good looks, enough intelligence to get good grades without trying, a smokin' hot body, a daddy that spoiled her rotten, an adorably dorky boyfriend, and very regular periods...Until Rachel threw that party.
1. Chapter 1

Santana Lopez had lots of things going for her: Good looks, enough intelligence to get good grades without trying, a smokin' hot body, a daddy that spoiled her rotten, an adorably dorky boyfriend, and very regular periods. So regular, in fact, that they always came between 6 and 7 am every fourth Friday. They had been this way since she had gotten her first period at thirteen so she was always prepared. So when she woke up on Friday, March 11, she showered, put her panty-liner in place and got ready for school. By the time her first break rolled around at 10:15, she headed to the girls' bathroom with a tampon. She was sure it would be time for that, but when she checked, the liner was completely clean and dry. She knew her period had to be coming. She had had some mild cramping, she was emotional, and her breasts were sore. Those were signs of pms, right? She was just having a particularly bad case of it and Aunt Flo would be crashing the party any time, she was sure of it, sort of. She went to her next two classes and tried not to think about it. By lunchtime she still hadn't gotten it, and she was becoming more and more on edge. Her mind raced back to Rachel's party two weeks before where she and Sam got wasted and they did the deed for the first time. She had never taken "the pill" but was a smart girl and always insisted the guy she was with wore a condom. It was better anyway since she wasn't always monogamous, but she vaguely remembers Sam saying that he didn't think he could get her pregnant since he was a virgin, and in her drunken stupor, she thought that sounded accurate. She didn't even want to get her mack on with Sam or link pinkies with Brittany. Her best friend and new boyfriend were dumb, but at least Brittany could tell something was up.

Brittany caught up with her at her locker after they had finished eating, well Brittany ate, Santana didn't really feel like it. "So listen, how about you and I pop in some Sweet Valley High this evening, maybe get our cuddle on?" Brittany suggested.

"I can't tonight, Brit-Brit" the Latina replied, "I'd really like to get our sweet lady kisses on but I haven't been feeling very sexy. I think I have a bun in the oven".

The blonde's eyes went wide with shock, "did you see a stork building a nest on your roof too? I know he was just getting ready to bring me my baby, I know where they come from, I'm not stupid. I didn't want to say anything because I wanted to surprise everyone when he got dropped off. I'm pretty sure it's a boy, I hope he comes with his own little wheelchair because he'll fall out of Artie's. Oooh! I just realized our babies will be cousins or something, this is going to be so much fun!".

Even though it was Brittany speaking, Santana could not believe what she was hearing. Did she really think storks brought babies? They were both there when Quinn gave birth and Brittany did have a brother and a sister that were quite a bit younger than her so it was hard to believe. She wrote a mental note to explain the birds and the bees to her friend later, but right now she had her own problems to worry about.

"Okay, I will come over tonight, and we'll figure this out. In the mean time, just please don't tell anyone, especially Sam. Or Artie for that matter."

"Your secret's safe with me", Brittany smiled, and Santana knew it was. Brittany was a lot of things, trust-worthy was one of them.

Santana talked Sam into hanging out with Artie for the night. He had been saying he wished they were as close and their girlfriends were anyway. Poor guy really was clueless. He told her they were going to play a marathon round of Halo or watch Avatar or brush up on their Na'vi. Something adorably dorky like that, she was pretty distracted and wasn't really listening to him. She drove 30 minutes away to a neighboring county. Her dad was a well-known doctor in town and with all the volunteering she did at her local hospital, plus being a very popular former cheerleader, everyone knew her and her family. She couldn't help but notice the judgmental look the cashier gave her but she didn't really care, she had to get this over with. At 6 pm she showed up at Brittany's house with four pregnancy tests and two very large bottles of water.

By 6:30, they both had their answers. They had each taken two tests, and Brittany's were negative, not that that was any surprise. Santana, however, looked down at four very pink lines. "Shit", she muttered as her eyes filled up with tears. "My life is officially over". Brittany engulfed her best friend in a hug just as Santana began to shake and cry uncontrollably.

a/n. This is just something I thought up tonight. I'm sure this title has been done a million times, but it's all I could come up with in the moment, lol. This is my first story, and it's not Beta'd so it's probably rough.


	2. Chapter 2

a/n. So here's chapter two. This is kind of addicting! Thanks to everyone who added or alerted this story, and special thanks to CarliexJohnson for reviewing. I didn't know if anyone would since I'm new at this so it's nice to get feedback. I hope other people are enjoying it too!

It was a little over three weeks later, and Brittany had stayed true to her word and kept the news of Santana's "condition" to herself. The Latina thanked her lucky stars that she had a best friend she could trust, although she wasn't sure she could keep her mouth shut if the shoe was on the other foot. Luckily, Sam still had no idea, and Santana was also thankful that her boyfriend was kind of dim. She had convinced him that they should join the Celibacy Club the week she had found out she was pregnant, and then suggested they also give up drinking to go with their new lifestyle. Thankfully, he went along with that too, so she wouldn't have to come up with some weird excuse not to drink on weekends. Not that she intended to keep her pregnancy from him forever, she was just terrified and didn't know how to tell him. They'd been together a little over a month and she was already pregnant, she was nervous about how he would react, and how the Glee Club, the school, and her parents would react when they inevitably found out. Especially after how she had treated Quinn when she got pregnant. I mean, Quinn was a total bitch, but Karma was too, she was learning.

Of course she wasn't showing yet, the only minor difference was that her breasts were already slightly larger. Sam noticed but since they weren't having sex anymore, she was able to say it was a new padded bra. He was a little annoyed that he couldn't touch them anymore, he didn't see why they couldn't still do "other" things but they were so sore so she really couldn't stand it. Then the morning sickness started. At first it was just slight nausea so she was able to keep it to herself, but then she became sick to the point of vomiting several times a day. Even smelling Brittany's hair spray one day made her go into full Linda-Blair-mode in the girl's bathroom. Brittany was sweet and offered to stop using it until Santana got past the morning sickness. Santana was starting to feel kind of miserable and keeping the secret from Sam was just making it worse. She had to tell him. So one Monday in early April she decided she would. It had been a particularly bad weekend and they hadn't seen each other at all. She had told him she had the flu and he didn't suspect anything else. He was there by her car with a red slushy (her favorite lately) when she got to school

"Now or never" she thought as he opened her door and gave her a slushy and a kiss on the cheek. She offered him a weak smile in return.

"Still not feeling so hot?" he asked, "you look hot", he said with a smirk. "My baby always looks hot".

"Oh God...the b-word", she thought, she was starting to feel even more nauseous, knowing she was about to change both of their lives forever. "No, I'm still sick. I've been dry-heaving all weekend. When my mother asked me what the noise was, I told her I was practicing bird calls".

"Why couldn't you just tell her you were sick?", he asked, not getting what the big deal was.

"My dad's a doctor, every time I'm sick they insist on running a full battery of tests, and I'm not sick Sam, not exactly. I'm, I'm...pregnant," she said fighting back the tears and the bile that was threatening to come up.

"Pregnant like, with a baby?" he asked while tilting his head slightly to the side. "Are you sure? Is it, is it mine?". He winced slightly as that last question left his mouth, knowing instantly that he shouldn't have asked.

"I'm sure. I mean, I haven't been to the doctor or anything but my period is 3 weeks late, and it's _never _late. I took two tests which both came back positive, and I have all the symptoms. I'm puking my guts out, I'm tired all the time, I'm extra emotional and my boobs have grown almost a full cup size. And yes, asshole, it's yours! Contrary to what everyone thinks I'm not a major slut anymore. The last person I had sex with besides you was Puckerman and that was last fall. I mean, there is Brittany, but scissoring doesn't result in babies". Fortunately, that last comment went right over Sam's head. He wrapped her in a hug and they both stood there while she bawled and he repeatedly told her that it was going to be okay, although he couldn't really see how it would be. When she finally calmed down, they realized that first period had started 10 minutes before and there was no way they could show up late, and obviously upset. He helped her into her Corolla and then got into the passenger seat and they just sat there in silence for what seemed like forever. Finally he had to speak up.

"So what are you going to do? I know we've only been together for a little while and this is unexpected, but I'll support you on whatever you decide", he said with a shaky voice.

"I don't know", she cried. "I'm Catholic so it's always been drilled in my head that abortion is wrong, I just never thought I'd be in this situation. I thought the first time I got pregnant, I'd be married to an NFL player or something. Maybe it isn't wrong, maybe it _is _just a clump of cells? I'm not ready to be a mom. I'm not ready for my family to know. I'm not ready for Quinn to know. I'm not ready for any of this".

"Okay, Friday we don't have Glee. We'll tell our parents we're going on a date and we'll go to the free clinic in Putnam County after school. We can at least get some answers and talk about our options. It's going to be okay", he reassured while tucking a piece of hair behind her ear and kissing her forehead. "We're going to get through this".

Santana smiled through her tears and nodded her head "it's a date", she replied in a weak voice. Sam looked at his watch, "we've got ten minutes before second period starts, are you okay to go?". She nodded, took a deep breath and went about fixing her make-up. "Yeah, I need to pee again anyway," she laughed nervously. They kissed and went to their respective classes, she was relieved that that went better than expected. She knew her parents would not take it so well though. That afternoon in Glee, most of the other kids seemed to noticed that Santana was being more quiet than usual. In fact they had noticed it over the last few weeks. They didn't mind though, it was better than having her constantly slashing them with her vicious vicious words.

a/n please review! I'd love to hear how I'm doing or even your ideas for what you'd like me to include or where you want to see this go in the future.


	3. Chapter 3

a/n Here's chapter three! I posted it last night but decided to make some changes, so this is the new version, and also some minor changes to chapter 2. Thanks again to the couple of people who have reviewed and for those who continue to add and alert this story.

The next four days went all too quickly for Santana, and soon it was Friday. In just a matter of hours she would not be able to deny it. There would be confirmation of what she already knew to be true, she was pregnant and she would have to start making decisions she wasn't ready for. She and Sam tried to distract themselves with homework, making out, and getting ready for Regionals but it was becoming more and more difficult. Santana's morning sickness seemed to be getting even worse but she wasn't sure if some of that was nerves. They had discovered one thing that helped to settle her stomach though, red slushies, so Sam made sure she always had one while they were at school. After school got out for the day, they met by Sam's truck and decided to leave Santana's car there for the evening. They told their parents they were going to a movie and then dinner, and they were off. The ride to the free clinic in Ottowa was about 45 minutes but seemed endless for the two scared teenagers. They spent the first twenty minutes or so in complete silence until Santana couldn't hold the tears back any longer.

"What if it's deformed?", she choked out. "That whole first week was pretty much one big booze-fest, what if I screwed up it's DNA or something? I don't want a baby, but I don't want to fuck it up either".

"Hey, it's going to be okay. I'm sure lots of women drink before they know they're pregnant, at least you stopped. Let's try not to worry about it until we know otherwise", he offered comfortingly while taking her hand.

She nodded and wiped her eyes and they rode in silence, hands linked together, for the rest of the ride. They parked outside the clinic and he took a deep breath before helping her out of the car and through the glass door. There were six other young women in the waiting room, two with boyfriends, but the rest without, three of them visibly pregnant. They all looked up at her with accusing eyes and she fought the urge to flip them all off. "Hypocrites", she thought, they were all in the same boat. She held her head up and headed to the front desk.

"Name please?" asked a plump blonde who was way too chipper to be working at a place like this.

"Naya Rivera", she replied. It's the only thing she could think of. Rivera, was her mother's maiden name, and Naya after the beloved goldfish she had a a child. She certainly wasn't going to give them her real name. They may have been in a different county but her entire family was very well known and she knew for a fact she was the only person named "Santana" in the county, maybe even western Ohio. Having a successful doctor for a father was great when you wanted a car for your 16th birthday or a boob job before you started your junior year of high school, not so much when you were pregnant at 17.

"Okay Miss Rivera, what are you here for today?", she asked in that fucking cheerful tone.

"pregnancy confirmation" she mumbled while she looked down at her feet.

"okay, why don't you take a seat and the nurse will call you back when we're ready". She nodded and sat in the middle of the room, the only place that had two available chairs next to each-other. Some time later it was her turn.

"Miss Rivera?" a nurse called. No one got up. "Miss Rivera?" she repeated. Still no response. "Naya Rivera?". Oh right, that was her "name" today. The two teenagers got up and followed the nurse through the wooden door. They got her weight, 112, her blood pressure, 122/85, still normal but slightly high for Santana. They chocked it up to nerves, given the circumstances and didn't worry about it. They also took her temperature, a perfect 98.6. The nurse showed them the room, pointed to the bathroom and told her to use one of the cups in there to leave a urine sample, and then instructed her to take off everything but her panties and change into the blue gown on the examining table. While they waited for the urinalysis results to come back the nurse asked her a few health related questions.

"When was your last period?", the nurse asked

"February 11"

"and your periods are regular?"

"yes, every 28 days exactly"

"How many sexual partners have you had?"

"five, but only one for the last few months"

"any serious illness or surgeries in the past?"

"Several cases of mono and a breast augmentation last June", she replied

"I see", the nurse said and Santana tried not to roll her eyes at the obviously snippy and judgemental tone the nurse had taken after the last admission.

"Any nausea, breast tenderness, moodiness, increased urination, or fatigue?"

"yes, yes, yes, yes, and yes".

"Any history of diabetes in the family?"

"My grandfather on my mother's side had it..."

"Okay then", the nurse said in a fake cheery tone. "I'll go check on your results and be right back".

She left and was back in no time, although it seemed like forever to Santana and Sam.

"Well, kids, it looks like you're pregnant. Right at about eight weeks by my calculations. Your due date is November 18. The doctor will be in a few minutes to do a pelvic and breast exam and a pap smear, and then when you're done with that, you'll go down the hall for an ultrasound and blood test. We'll make sure the baby is developing normally, make sure mom is healthy, and check for STDs. Common procedure". And with that, she left. A few minutes later a doctor entered to perform the exams. Sam got up to leave the room, but Santana grabbed his hand and let him know he was staying there with her. It was awkward seeing a middle aged man squeeze her breasts, but it was only his second time seeing them so he had to think of the Beiste so he wouldn't get turned on. He couldn't help but notice that they were, in fact, bigger than the last time he saw them. Then the doctor did some weird stuff down by her crotch, he wasn't sure what, but it looked uncomfortable. The doctor didn't say much, and after a few excruciating minutes, he was done. He removed his gloves and instructed Santana to put her clothes back on and then he left.

Santana and Sam just sat there for a few seconds, stunned. They both knew she was pregnant, but holy shit, this was real...and the nurse called Santana "mom". They didn't cry this time, they couldn't, Sam helped Santana dress and he tried not to stare, and somehow made their way to hallway outside the ultrasound room where Santana was instructed to drink four cups of water and wait. Just when she thought she couldn't hold her bladder any longer, the technician called them back. She laid back on the table, unbuttoned the top of her pants, lifted her shirt up, and the technician squirted some gel on her belly. The freezing sensation on her sensitive skin almost made her jump.

"Sorry, it might be a little cold" the technician offered with a smile.

"No shit", Santana muttered, and Sam nudged her signaling that she should probably behave. The pressure on her lower abdomen made it even more difficult to hold her bladder, and she was genuinely concerned that she might lose control and wet herself in front of her new boyfriend. After a few seconds of silence, the technician smiled.

"Everything appears to be developing normally. The baby is the right size for 8 weeks". Then she turned the screen toward the teenagers and pointed to a gray area on the bottom half of the mostly black monitor. Santana resisted at first, she wasn't quite ready to see it, but curiousity eventually won. "See, this? That's your baby. And that flickering thing there? That's the heartbeat, it's very strong".

Of course Santana cried again. It was real, there really, really was a baby in there. She was scared, terrified really, and seeing the blob on screen, she burst into tears. She looked at Sam who also had tears in his eyes, and he gripped her hand tighter. She wasn't sure exactly what he was thinking, but she had pretty much made up her mind. The technician printed out some pictures and also made a copy of the ultrasound on a cd for them and sent them to the lab. They look several vials of blood, and told her they would call her with the results in a few days. She was handed some pamphlets on everything from pregnancy, abortion, adoption, Shaken Baby Syndrome, and breastfeeding, along with a number for a 24 hour teen pregnancy crisis counselor, and a bottle of prenatal vitamins. "You only have a few more weeks to decide if you want to terminate, so you need to act fast".

"Thanks", she said, while handing two of the pamphlets back to the nurse. "But I've made my decision, I'm not going to let some stupid pamphlets try to influence me or make me feel guilty". Sam couldn't see which pamphlets she returned, and he was scared to look or ask. He just took her hand and walked her out to the truck. They went to Breadstix but neither one was really hungry. They just sat there, and didn't say much.

a/n 2. Thanks for reading and please, please, please review! Since I'm new at this it would be great to know how I'm doing, get some constructive criticism, and ideas for future chapters or storylines! Also, which pamphlets do you think Santana returned? The ones on breastfeeding and shaken baby syndrome or the ones on adoption and abortion? Stay tuned!


	4. Chapter 4

a/n: sorry for the delay, but here is the next chapter finally! I was super busy and the last episode didn't really inspire much for this chapter. Thanks so much for the reviews, messages, alerts, and favorites! I hope this chapter is okay.

Several days had passed and Santana still hadn't discussed her decision with Sam. She knew she should have, it was his baby too, but once she did, it would be final. He was being very supportive but he was dying to know what was going on too. At least they had Regionals to focus on, that served as a bit of a distraction. Brittany was still the only other person that knew about Santana's pregnancy, but Santana didn't look pregnant yet, so sometimes Brittany forgot. So she didn't really think about it too much.

On Monday they were at their lockers. "I think we should talk about what's going on." Brittany said. "I honestly have no idea what you're talking about," Santana replied. Of course she knew, but they were at school and she really didn't want anyone overhearing. "But you told me you have a bun in the oven" Brittany whispered. Santana hushed her when she saw Sue approaching.

"Well, well, if it isn't Tweedle-Dumb and Tweedle-Fake-Boobs. Speaking of which, your chest fruit is looking even more ripe these days, did you pump them full of more gravy?" Sue sneered as she came up behind them.

"You're not our cheerleading coach anymore, you can't talk to us like that!" Brittany said while Santana just stood there with her arms crossed under her chest, trying not to wince too much over how sensitive it had become.

"I'm not anyone's cheerleading coach anymore," Sue grumbled, "and I can talk to you however I want. You betrayed me, and in case you haven't heard, I like to play dirty." And with that she walked off, and Santana briefly questioned what Sue meant by that. Both girls opened their lockers at the same time and a waterfall of dirt came at them. They screamed and Brittany gagged but Santana had to admit the dirt tasted strangely good to her. It seemed to satisfy a craving that she hadn't been able to figure out. Pregnancy sure was weird.

"I don't remember putting that in there," Brittany said, looking completely confused and Santana had to laugh. Her best friend was kind of adorable.

"Come on, let's get cleaned up." She said, linking with the blonde's pinky and taking her into the girls bathroom.

That afternoon in Glee practice, Mr. Schuester told them that Sue had made sure they couldn't perform the song they'd been planning to do all along at Regionals. Rachel once again suggested they write original music, and once again Santana shot it down. It was Quinn who backed up Rachel's idea and said they should do original songs and that she would like to help write them. Something was definitel y up. Quinn wasn't nice to most people, and she hated Rachel even more than Santana did. Actually, Santana didn't hate Rachel, she didn't hate anyone, it was just this tough girl image she started in middle school that she felt she had to keep up. And Rachel was an easy target.

"Fine, then I think we should all get a chance to write a song." Santana added, and Sam nodded, liking the idea even though he didn't know the first thing about song writing.

"Alright, then it's settled," Mr. Schuester exclaimed, "tomorrow we'll have our very first song writing seminar." Everyone cheered excitedly.

The next day Mr. Shuester was handing out rhyming dictionaries when Santana raised her hand.

"Mr. Schue, Tina and I have been working on a song that I wrote and I'm ready to present it to the class."

"really? That's amazing!" he said "Can we hear it?"

Santana stood up and cleared her voice "this is a song I wrote for my boyfriend Sam, It's called Trouty Mouth."

"Wait, what's it called?" Sam asked. He heard but he couldn't believe it. Mike leaned over and whispered "Trouty Mouth," trying to be all helpful.

The music started and Santana took of her jacket, revealing her tube top and her toned arms. Damn, she was sexy, Sam thought.

"Guppy Face, Trouty Mouth

Is that how people's lips look where you come from in the South?

Grouper mouth, froggy lips

I love sucking on those salamander lips

Wanna put a fish hook in those lips so cherry red

If you tried hard enough, you could suck a baby's head

Wooh!" Santana belted, getting very into it.

"Can we stop? Stop with the mouth jokes!" Sam yelled.

"Sit down, I'm not finished!" she replied.

"Yes you are". He argued.

"Mr. Schue, we're NOT doing a song at Regionals called Trouty Mouth" Sam added.

"You know what? I have to agree with Sam" Mr. Schue spoke up. "But such a good first effort, I just don't think it has the epic feel that we need for regionals" he said, patting Santana on the back. She returned to her seat as Sam acted insulted. He really wasn't though. He was confident in his looks and knew Santana loved his mouth. The stress over the unplanned pregnancy and the fact that Santana had seemingly made a huge decision without him was really getting to him. He said he would support her in whatever she decided but he really just needed to know. It was eating away at him, so he lashed out. Then Puck performed a song about Lauren's rolls of fat or something, which thoroughly disgusted Santana. How anyone could pick that fatass over her was a mystery to her. She was over it though, mostly, and Sam was good to her.

Finally it was Saturday, the day of Regionals. Quinn and Rachel had each written songs that even Santana had to admit were both pretty good. They performed their hearts out and won, not that any of them were surprised. It was about time, they really felt they should have won last year, but at least they did this year. After the performance, they all met back at Rachel's house for a celebration. This time, her dads were home, so things wouldn't get too out of control. Not that anything worse could really happen to Santana now. Everyone was sitting around eating and chatting when Santana pulled Sam off to the side.

"Can we talk?" she asked, taking his hand and leading him into Rachel's room for privacy. "Finally," Sam thought, although he instantly became nervous and slightly nauseous. He knew it was about their little "situation."

"Crazy day, huh?" Sam said, after a few seconds of uncomfortable silence. "Amazing though, I'm so glad we won!"

"Today is a day we'll never forget, that's for sure," she mused, "and I'm about to either make it even better, or ruin it for you."

Sam nodded, waiting to hear what was coming.

"I've decided I can't…..I can't kill my baby, our baby, and I can't give it up. I know we didn't plan this, but it happened, and seeing its little body and its little heartbeat, I felt proud. I know we're young and we haven't been together that long, but I'm keeping the baby, whether I raise it by myself or with you. I love it already. More than I've ever loved anything" she cried, afraid to look up at him.

Sam pulled her in for a hug "then I guess you're going to have to put up with me for the next 18 years, because you're not raising this baby alone. I won't do that to you. I told you I would support you in whatever you decide and I meant it. Can I tell you something? I love the baby already too." With that, Sam leaned down and kissed Santana's still flat tummy. "Hey baby, I'm your daddy, I know your mom and I are young, and we may be crazy, but we love you and we're going to do our best. We can't wait to meet you". Santana let out a little giggle through her tears "oh my god, we're having a baby!" she said, shocking herself at the first time she said it out loud. Of all the guys she'd had sex with, she was glad Sam was the one that knocked her up. If she had to get knocked up in high school that is. They wiped their eyes, joined hands and returned to the group in Rachel's living room.

a/n 2: And it's officially a Santana/Sam story. Yay? And they're keeping their baby!


	5. Chapter 5

a/n: So so so sorry I haven't updated in so long! When I first heard the spoiler that Santana was going to get slushied, I immediately had ideas about how I wanted this chapter to go, and I was just waiting to see how it played out on the show. I had no idea we'd have to wait so long to see it. Well we finally saw it and we got NOTHING about why she got slushied or any story around it, so I'll do my best. Thanks again for the reviews, favorites, and alerts! They make my day!

Despite what she may have told Lauren, Santana did not come from the wrong side of the tracks. The Lopez family actually lived in a 6,000 square foot house in one of Lima's most prestigious neighborhoods. She and Sam joked that they wouldn't have to tell her parents about the pregnancy, she would just wear baggy clothes, and they could keep the baby in one of the home's seven bedrooms and the adults would have no idea. Since Santana's three older brothers had moved out, she'd had the entire second floor to herself and her parents never ever went up there. In fact they were rarely home. The maid came up there but ever since Santana threatened to have her deported if she told the Lopezes about the baggies of vomit she had found in the linen closet during Santana's bulimic phase sophomore year, she knew she had nothing to worry about from that end. Really though, to Santana, telling her parents was the thing that scared her most about being pregnant. To say they were going to be shocked would be an understatement. Santana was a member of the Celibacy Club, and even though the entire faculty and student body at William McKinley High School knew better, her parents actually believed that their daughter was a virgin. Why would their little princess lie to them? It's not like she was "that Fabray girl", they'd raised her better than that. Or so they thought.

Both of the teenagers were nervous, but after what had happened at school that day, they knew they had to tell their parents as soon as possible before they found out from someone else. Due to nerves, Sam was now just as nauseous as Santana had been the last few weeks and they were starting to think hiding the baby was actually a good idea. They knew realistically it would never work so they were able get Santana's parents to invite Sam over along with Mr. and Mrs. Evans over for pizza on very short notice, explaining that it was just time that they all met eachother.

Earlier that morning Santana caught up with Brittany for the first time in a week to get to the bottom of the silly rumor that Brittany had joined The Braniacs. There was no way. Santana had known Brittany since Kindergarten and although she loved the girl with all her heart, she had to admit that her best friend was pretty dumb. The only reason that she had been passed on to the next grade every year was because she was the most talented dancer on the Cheerios and Sue threatened bodily harm to any teacher who failed her and made her ineligible. So they passed her. Now that they were off the Cheerios, Santana was doing her best to help her pass her classes by studying with her and even doing her homework for her. Now that she was pregnant though, she didn't know how she was going to keep this up. She now had her own serious problems to deal with. She was just about to ask Brittany about it when Dave Karofsky, the world's biggest Neanderthal douchebag approached her out of nowhere.

"I thought I'd bring you a slushy since you've been carrying them around with you everywhere these days. Seems red is your favorite!". And with that, he threw it in her face. Santana had never been so humiliated in her life, or so she thought, plus it hurt like a bitch. Kurt once described the feeling as being "bitch-slapped by an iceburg" and Santana thought that was pretty accurate, she was also upset that one of her favorite tops was now ruined. She probably wouldn't be able to wear it anymore in a few months but hopefully she could have gotten a few more wears out of it.

"You can't slushy her, she's pregnant!" Brittany announced to Karofsky and the hallway full of students without even thinking. She immediately realized her mistake though because her eyes got wide and she covered her mouth with her hands. And Santana was wrong, this was infinitely more humiliating than being slushied.

Santana managed to make it into the bathroom before bursting into tears, and Brittany was right behind her, but she was the last person Santana wanted to see right now.

"Thanks a lot, you ruined my day, I hope you're happy! Who ever thought you could actually be this stupid anyway? That was completely retarded, even coming from you! Do you ever think?" Santana cried.

"I am so sorry, I can't believe I was that stupid, but I just wasn't thinking. You have to believe that I would never do anything to hurt you! I was just looking out for you and the baby!" Brittany cried, trying to hug the Latina.

"Get off me!" Santana demanded, pushing Brittany away and locking herself in one of the stalls. When it was clear she wasn't coming out anytime soon, Brittany left and went to class. Santana stayed there until lunch time when Sam came to get her. Brittany was concerned, and feeling really bad and had told him that she was in there. By that time the entire school, faculty, and Glee club surely knew that Santana was pregnant, and it would only be a matter of time before Jacob blogged about it on the school's website, and everyone on Lima found out. Santana and Sam decided then and there that they had no choice but to tell their parents that night.

The Evans arrived promptly at 7:00 and all three Lopezes greeted them at the door.

"Dr. Lopez, Mrs. Lopez, these are my parents Bill and Mary" Sam said with a nervous smile as he took his girlfriend's hand.

"It's nice to meet you" Mrs. Lopez said, "But please, call us Mark and Cece, that goes for you too Sam. Mrs. Lopez makes me feel like a grandma!"

Sam laughed nervously at the "grandma" comment and Santana felt like she might vomit.

"Your home is beautiful" Mary commented and Cece led the both families into the dining room.

"Thanks" Cece replied "I'll be happy to show you around after dinner, but let's sit down before it gets cold. We just adore Sam, he is so good to our girl and we love seeing her so happy," she added.

"We think Santana is lovely," Bill replied, "and we can see how happy she makes Sam. So what kind of pizza are we having?"

"We got one supreme, and one Hawaiian" Cece replied, opening the boxes. " I hope that's okay. Hawaiian has always been Santana's favorite".

But it wasn't her favorite tonight, as soon as she saw and smelled the combination of Canadian bacon and pineapple, she bolted to the bathroom. A concerned Sam followed, leaving four very confused adults alone in the dining room. Suddenly certain things in the last few weeks began running through Cece's head...the "bird calls" that sounded more like dry-heaving, the recent charges on her Victoria's Secret card that Santana just explained as her old bras getting worn out, and the fact that her daughter was now going to bed as early as 7 pm some nights. Even on weekends. Plus Santana had always been emotional, but lately she was just ridiculous. Things started to click and she she was on the verge of hyperventilating.

A few minutes later, the teenagers returned to the dining room holding hands and looking terrified. Santana looked at her mom and knew that she knew.

"Care to tell us what is going on?" Cece asked after some deep breathing.

No one spoke for what seemed like an eternity, but was really only a few seconds. Finally Sam figured he should just get it over it.

"Santana's pregnant." He blurted. "It's mine, and we're keeping the baby".

Cece and Mary both burst into tears and Mark and Bill couldn't bring themselves to say anything at first. After a few minutes of everyone staring at the teenagers and Santana bawling as well, Mark finally spoke up.

"You little whore!" he spat. "You were the smart one, we had such high hopes for you! Even your dumbass brothers never did anything this stupid. You've ruined your life, you've ruined our lives! Imagine what people will say about us now. Get out of my house, get out of my sight, I can't even look at you right now!"

Of course this only made Santana more upset. Yes, she made a mistake, it's not like she wanted this to happen, but she hated disappointing her parents like this. She had always been her daddy's little princess, he spoiled her rotten and was always bragging about her to everyone he met. Now he was completely disgusted with her and saying horrible things. Cece, Mr. and Mrs. Evans were equally sad and disappointed about the situation but hearing Dr. Lopez say these things, they couldn't help but feel sorry for the kids, especially Santana. Cece wanted to comfort her daughter but in that moment she didn't have the strength to. It was then that Mary Evans stepped up for her.

"That's enough! Bill, Sam, we're leaving. Santana, honey, you're coming too. Pack an overnight bag, you're staying with us until everyone calms down." She said while wrapping her arms around her teenage son's pregnant girlfriend.

Under normal circumstances, she would never allow them both to sleep under her roof, but she couldn't leave her here with her dad so angry with her, and being so scared and pregnant on top of it. Besides, she was already pregnant, it's not like anything else could happen. Ten minutes later the four of them left, Mary's arms still around Santana, leaving the Lopezes stunned and speechless in the dining room.


	6. Chapter 6

a/n: here's part two of the Night of Neglect chapter! Not as happy with it as I was with the last chapter, but I wanted to add this stuff. Thanks again for reading/enjoying/favoriting/reviewing!

_Retarded_. Santana absolutely despised that word. Not that she was against using profanity or insults, not at all, she definitely had a foul mouth. It was just that particular word. People often used to to describe Brittany and it really pissed her off because it hurt Brittany so much. She was regularly giving a verbal beat-down to anyone who said it, and now she had said it too. She felt terrible about it, she knew Brittany really was looking out for her and the baby and it just slipped out, and Santana could be a bit of a bitch, just not usually toward Brittany. It turned out though, that Brittany had done her a favor. She and Sam had been stressing about the secret of the pregnancy for weeks and it was really taking a toll on them. Now everyone knew, her parents were pissed, Sam's were disappointed, but they knew. They didn't need to worry about how anyone would react anymore. She'd been staying at Sam's house for a few days now, it was so different from her own. Sam's parents were actually home at night and they paid attention to them. Mary Evans still cried when she looked at Sam and Santana sometimes, but it could have been worse. She hadn't talked to her parents since she left, and she really didn't want to. She knew she had fucked up and that she had dissapointed them, but it could have happened to anyone, and they were just cruel when they found out. She didn't know what was worse, her dad saying such awful things about her, or her mom letting it happen and not doing anything about it.

She'd also made up with Brittany. They loved eachother, and Brittany knew that Santana didn't mean to call her retarded just like Santana knew that Brittany didn't mean to tell all those people that she was pregnant. The Glee Club was surprisingly supportive too. They were all slightly disappointed, having gone through it a year before, but noone was exactly suprised. If it could happen to Quinn, they figured it was only a matter of time before it happened to Brittany or Santana. Brittany announced that she had thought she was pregnant too since she had seen a stork, but that her tests came out negative. They were all relieved at that. Santana could be a bitch, but at least she wasn't going to lose the baby somewhere or forget to feed it. She'd actually gotten along a lot better with the Glee club since everyone got on her case for being a bitch to Finn about the kissing booth. She was trying, and she actually cared about all of them, she just felt she had to keep up the tough girl image. Even Quinn was being nice to her, answering her questions, and bringing her the clothes she wore when she was pregnant. Her morning sickness was not as bad as it had been, and she wasn't sure if it was because she was nearing the end of her first trimester or if it was because there were no more secrets eating away at her.

It was the night of the fundraising concert at McKinley and Santana was wearing her favorite red dress. She had to admit she looked hot in it, and she figured she might as well get as much use out of it before she exploded. She left the rest of the members in the dressing room because she had to pee again when she heard an argument in the hall.

"What the hell are you two doing here?" Karofsky asked angrily.

"We're here for the benefit, don't tell me you're going" Kurt replied.

"I wouldn't be caught dead. I was pumping iron in the gym and one of the guys told me you two were here spreading your fairy dust all over the place."

"Would you just give it up? You can live whatever lie you want but don't pretend the three of us don't know what's really going on here." Blaine interjected

"You don't know squat butt-boy!" Karofsky said as he started shoving the other boys around.

Santana couldn't take it anymore. The only person she'd ever really stuck up for before was Brittany, and she didn't know if it was her maternal instintcs kicking in already, but she had to do something.

"Hey, hey, hey, no, stop!" She yelled, getting in between the guys.

"Real brave with your fist but you're a coward when it comes to the truth!" Kurt hissed.

"Truth about what?" She asked curiously.

"It's none of your business J. Lo!"

"First of all, anything you do became my business when you decided to toss that slushy up in my grill." She explained.

"I think I can take a couple of queers and a pregnant girl" Karofsky smirked.

"Huh, okay, so here's what's gonna go down. Two choices: you stay here and I crack one of your nuts. Right or left, that's your choice. Or you walk away and live to be a douchebag another day. Oh, and also I have razor blades hidden in my hair." She added, gesturing to her hair. "Mmm-hm, tons just all up in there. Mm-hm."

Karofsky walked away, defeated, by a pregnant girl no less, and Santana just smirked, relieved that it didn't get physical. Not that she'd let it anymore, she had become fiercely protective of her baby ever since she had the ultrasound, but could still slash people with her vicious, vicious words.

"We could have handled that" Blaine said.

"It was more fun doing it together" Santana replied was just about to return to the rest of the Glee club when someting in Kurt's brain clicked.

"Wait, did he say pregnant girl?" he asked

"Yeah, trouty mouth kind of knocked me up." She said, blushing.

"It really was just a matter of time" Kurt muttered to Blaine.

"What?" she asked.

"I was just telling Blaine you still look super fine. That dress is fierce, you can't even tell!" He explained nervously.

"So are you okay? Are you keeping it?"

"Well my parents hate me right now, so I'm staying at Sam's house. They're sad, but they're being nice to me. And yes, we're keeping it. I'm freaking out, but there really was no other choice for me." She sighed.

"I can't believe you're going to be a mom! It's going to be okay though, and uncle Kurt will always have the kid's back, just like you had mine tonight." He said, pulling her into a hug.


	7. Chapter 7

Santana was trying to be nicer to everyone, she really was, especially to the Glee club, but sometimes it was hard. Especially with her pregnancy hormones causing some major mood swings and irritability, and she tended to be a bit of a bitch to begin with. So when everyone was trying to talk Rachel out of getting nose job, she really couldn't help herself.

"Hold up, could we all just get real for a second?" She spoke up. "I hear that Rachel's got a bit of a schnoz. I mean, I wouldn't know because like Medusa, I try to avoid eye contact with her. But can we all just stop lying about how there aren't things we wouldn't change about ourselves? I mean, I'm sure Sam's been at the doctor's office and rifled through pamphlets on mouth reduction. I'll bet Artie's thought about getting his legs removed because he's not really using them anyways, and I'm definitely sure Tina's looked into getting an eye de-slanting."

"That's extraordinarily racist, Santana", Tina interrupted before the pregnant girl could go any further.

"I'm just keeping it real" she admitted.

"Sorry, Santana but I'm a beautiful person. I'm in love with myself and I'd never change a thing." Tina replied confidently.

"Is that why you're wearing blue contacts today, Tina? The other Asian asked. "Self hatin' Asian!"

"Not many Asian sex symbols, Mike. I"m just trying to be in fashion and mirror what I see in magazines." Tina explained.

"My dancing kind of bothers me, and it almost killed Rachel, but I like the way I look." Finn admitted.

"Oh please!" Santana exclaimed. "You have weird puffy pyramid nipples. They look like they're filled with custard. I'm thinking about hiring you to feed my baby after it's born! Look, maybe Rachel's fine with having an enormous beak? Maybe she needs it to crack hard seeds? All I'm saying is that if you look in the mirror and don't like what you see, you should change it".

Okay, so that may have been a bit rude. She wasn't afraid to admit that being attractive was very important to her, and obviously she'd had a boob job, so she was all for doing things to make you feel better about yourself, even if that meant surgery. She was thankful she was blessed with a perfect nose, but if she had a nose like Rachel's she knew she'd change it. However, she thought Sam's mouth was very sexy, she wasn't about to admit that to the rest of the club though, so she still made jokes about it. Sam knew how she really felt though, and he actually thought it was funny but had to act hurt when she said those things.

Later in the hallway, she was drawing a mustache and man-boobs on a poster of Quinn and Finn, respectively, that urged people to vote for them for prom Queen and King when her scheming mind went to work.

_I should be prom Queen at this school, _she thought, _I'm the hottest piece of action around. This may be my last chance to get recognized for it before I explode. Ugh, who knows what this baby will do to my body. It's never gonna happen, I'll never get the votes, _she sighed, shaking her head. _Unless I get the jock-block. And God knows Sam doesn't have the heat at this school yet. And he's so gullible and in lust with me he'll go along with whatever I say. Hold on, there's someone at this school who just might have the juice, _she realized as she saw Dave Karofsky come around the corner and check out Sam's butt as he got a drink of water. _Holy sweet hell, I'm a judgmental bitch, and pregnancy has made me hyper-aware of things and lately I have awesome gaydar. _

It wasn't until that afternoon at the Lima Bean that her whole plan came together. She was sitting with Sam, Mercedes, Tina, Kurt, and Blaine and they were all talking about how much they missed having Kurt at their school, and Kurt was even admitting how much he missed it too.

"I told them I'd be all for it if it wasn't for Karofsky," Blaine explained.

_That's it! _Santana thought. _Kurt is the trick to winning prom Queen and totally boosting our chances at Nationals. If I could get Kurt back, I'd be a hero. Even Quinn and Finn would vote for me, plus I've always had a soft spot for Kurt. And the key? Karofsky!_

"I've gotta gay.. Go, I've gotta go". She announced, standing up so fast she almost got dizzy. She went home and explained her crazy plan to Sam. He wasn't in love with it, but he thought he loved her, and wanted her to be happy. Sam and Santana would still be together, secretly, but she was going to be Karofsky's beard for now. Of course, she had to tell Sam that Dave was gay, but she knew she could trust her baby-daddy, and knowing he was gay helped Sam be more okay with it. Sam was also the kind of guy that liked everyone, and was happy at the thought of having Kurt back too. So if this is what it took, he accepted it. The next day, they pretended Sam wasn't ready to be a father, and "broke-up", and shortly after, she asked Dave Karofsky out.

"I knew you'd ask me out eventually. I'm kind of Duke Stud at Mckinley" Dave smirked as he sat across from Santana at the Lima Bean.

"Oh, give it up, I know!" she said in a disgusted tone.

"know what?" he asked

"that you're gay!" She exclaimed, a little too loudly for his comfort.

"What? Who told you that?" he whispered, looking around to make sure nobody heard her.

"No one had to tell me. First of all, I saw you checking out Sam's ass the other day. You know you really need to be more careful about your leering."

"I didn't," he explained, "I was just seeing what jeans he was wearing"

"Like that's any less gay! Second of all, I know about you and Kurt. Remember last week at the benefit about you being worried about the truth getting out. Guess what? It's out!" She said bluntly.

"Whatever they told you is a lie to mess with me. I'm going to kick their asses!" He raged. His face was becoming red and he was practically shaking.

"You know what?" She said, taking his hand, "Why don't you just settle down, let mommy Tana tell you a little story. It's about you. You're what we call a late in life gay. You're going to stay in the closet, get married, have a couple of kids, get drunk to have relations with your wife, maybe become a state senator or a deacon, and then get caught in the men's room tapping your foot to some page. And you know what? I accept that about you."

"Why are you doing this?" He questioned, knowing that she was a bitch who always had ulterior motives.

"Because you need me. And because of you, everyone knows I'm knocked up. And I'm still really really pissed about it. If you go with me, and we pretend we're dating, and you're stepping up to father my baby, we'll be shoe-ins for Prom King and Queen, and we'll rule this school. We're also going to get Kurt back, and you're going to be nice to him." She explained.

"What if I say no?" he asked.

"Then I'm gonna tell everyone about you and your life will be over. I may be mostly straight, but I'm also a straight-up bitch."

On Thursday, Principal Figgins brought Karofsky to talk to the Glee club, amidst heavy protesting, but he stayed calm and recited the speech Santana wrote for him. He apologized for slushying all of them, bullying Kurt out of the school, and explained that he was changing, thanks to Santana.

"Wait, Santana?" Quinn asked, clearly confused.

Santana fought the urge to roll her eyes, and stood up to join Dave at the front of the choir room.

"This Glee Club is not complete without Kurt." She explained. "So I've taken it upon myself to try to rehabilitate Dave. To see if maybe Kurt would consider coming back and help us win Nationals. I did this for us" She smiled, and then took Karofsky's hand. "And then something funny happened, something called love."

Everyone was thoroughly disgusted, many of them making vomiting noises and gestures. Sam pretended to be hurt, Mike even patted him on the back to comfort him, but he knew better. Santana was still very much his girlfriend.

"I want Kurt to feel safe to come back which is why Santana and I started a new club," Dave continued. "The Bully Whips."

"The name was my idea," Santana said proudly, "we're gonna be like guardian angels."

"I'm planning on reaching out to Kurt personally through Principal Figgins to try to make amends. This a chance to really change this place. I hope you can support us." Karofsky explained.

Everyone still thought it was weird that Karofksy and Santana, of all people, were the ones leading the anti-bullying club, but they accepted it. They hoped that pregnancy was changing Santana and they really wanted Kurt back. And it worked! Kurt and Karofsky talked, and the next day, Kurt was officially back at McKinley. They even gave Kurt the lead in the "Born This Way" number they were performing. Kurt wanted Santana to have a big part in it too, but she had had some mild spotting the week before, so her doctor told her to take it easy until she was out of her first trimester. She was now eleven weeks pregnant, so she was hoping in another week she could take a more active role.

Brittany caught up with Santana at their lockers before their Friday afternoon performance, with a present.

"Hey, do you like my shirt for Glee Club?" the blonde asked, unbuttoning her jacket and displaying a shirt that said "I'm with stoopid" and an arrow pointing up.

"That's perfect" Santana laughed. "Check mine out" she said, unbuttoning her own jacket and revealing a shirt that read "BITCH". The look on Brittany's face made it clear that she was disappointed.

"What?" The Latina asked. "This is perfect. Legend has it, when I came out of my mother, I told the nurse she was fat. God, I hope my baby isn't a bitch!"

"Well, I made a different one for you" Brittany announced, unfolding a shirt that read "Knocked Up".

"Brittany, you realize I wasn't actually born pregnant, right?" Santana asked.

"I know that, but the assignment was to point out something about yourself that you can't change and you're not exactly proud of. I know you didn't plan on this, and I know you're young, but I don't want you to ever be ashamed or not proud of your baby. I love you, and I know you can't dance with me right now, but I want you to put this shirt on and be proud of your baby and watch me." She said, and then walked off.

The rest of the Glee club was in the auditorium, and about to perform when Artie realized someone was missing.

"Wait, where's Santana?" he asked.

"Probably making out with Karofsky" Sam replied. "Whatever," he shrugged, "He can have her". Although he obviously didn't mean it, and knew she couldn't dance right now. He just wasn't comfortable talking about his girlfriend's vaginal bleeding, and everyone needed to believe she was with Karofsky.

What they didn't know was that Santana was in the audience, sitting with Karofsky, but wearing her "Knocked Up" shirt. Though she would deny it and probably slap anyone who said it, she was definitely proud of her baby.

a/n: Sorry it took so long to get this chapter out, not enough hours in the day lately! Enjoy and please review!


	8. Chapter 8

a/n: I'm home sick with Bronchitis so I plan on getting updates on both of my stories out tonight. Yay! I know there are a lot of you reading who don't review (A LOT, A LOT!) so, please review, it'll make me feel better! :)

"Rachel actually asked me to prom today," Sam laughed as he sat on the plastic patio chair with his arm around Santana.

"Oh, really?" She said, raising a perfectly sculpted eyebrow.

"Yeah, she started rambling about cute lips, and chap-stick, and about how we should go to the prom together since we're both single."

"What did you tell her?" She asked, turning to him. Yes, she was going to prom with Karofsky, but she had her reasons. He was gay, and Sam knew that, and Sam also knew that winning Prom Queen was incredibly important to her, and he liked that she was looking out for Kurt. But he didn't want to go, he couldn't go, and if he could, he would only want to go with Santana.

"I told her she wasn't my type," he said, shocking Santana.

"So, what is your type?" she smirked.

"Well, she does have dark hair and eyes, which I like," he started, receiving a playful sock to the arm. "But I'm a boob man, and I also think pregnant chicks are totally sexy."

"Well then, you're in luck. I happen to have awesome boobs," she said, pulling him in closer.

"Yes, you do," he nodded enthusiastically, before attacking her face with the trouty mouth she loved so much.

"Ewwwwwwwwwwwwww! Gross!" Stacey, Sam's six year old sister screeched as she came out onto the patio and saw them.

"You are supposed to be in bed, young lady" Sam said, helping Santana up and trying to hide his blush.

"I can't sleep," she replied "not without my bedtime story."

"I'll tell you what. Why don't you wait out here, and I'll read to her. Kurt will be here soon, and I need to practice anyway." Santana offered.

Not five minutes after Santana went inside, Kurt arrived to see Sam, and unbeknownst to them, Rachel and Finn were following in Finn's truck to see what was going on. They had caught Quinn and Sam outside the very same motel room the day before and were determined to get to the bottom of it. Neither one of them had seen Santana there, and they figured both Quinn and Kurt were cheating on their boyfriends with Sam. They just couldn't figure out any other explanation. The next day at the Lima Bean, Mike, Puck, Lauren, Tina, Rachel, Artie, and Finn were grilling Quinn about what was going on with Sam. She wouldn't tell anyone what was going on, but she insisted that Sam was not gay. Quinn may have been a bitch at times, but she was always protective of the people she cared about.

Everything really hit then fan when Rachel chose to sing "Go Your Own Way" in Glee Club, and it was obvious that she was singing it to Finn.

"Don't you think it's maybe a little inappropriate that you chose to sing a love song to my guy?" Quinn almost shouted as soon as Rachel finished.

"You're such a hypocrite, you Little Miss Perfect Prom Queen! You're a cheater who cheats in cheap motel rooms with Sam!" Rachel spat back.

"Nothing's going on between Sam and I!" Quinn insisted for what felt like the millionth time that week.

"Enough guys!" Mr. Schuester said, trying to stop the fighting, but they persisted.

"You know, I blame Sam for this. Rachel too, I blame her too." Santana offered, not really meaning the part about blaming Sam but she felt she needed to contribute.

"What did I do?" Rachel asked.

"I'm sure you did something" Santana replied.

"Sam loves Santana. I mean why doesn't he have anything to say about this?" Lauren wondered aloud, and Santana just glared at her, hoping that no one else would agree with her.

"Guilt." Mike had said.

"Seriously dude, what you're doing is not cool. They both have boyfriends!" Puck said before Sam finally spoke up.

"Shut up! Look, I'm not messing around with Quinn or Kurt, or any of those guys. They're just helping me."

"Oh, that's what we're calling it now?" Mercedes asked, rolling her eyes.

"Wait, hold on! How are they helping you out?" Mr. Schue asked, now genuinely concerned for the big lipped blonde.

"Kurt was bringing me some clothes and Quinn has been bringing us hot meals."

"Then why were you in that motel?" Finn asked.

"Because that's where I live now. My dad lost his job a few months ago, then we lost our house. So we live in that motel in one room. Are you all happy? The truth's finally out!" Sam said, and then stormed out of the choir room.

In that moment, Santana wanted nothing more than to go after Sam, but she couldn't, because the whole truth was not out. There was more to it that the rest of the Glee Clubbers couldn't know because she was "dating" Karofksy.

That evening, there was a knock on Sam's motel room, and he answered, reluctantly. "I'm trying to get my sister to sleep" he explained through the door that he just slightly cracked open.

"Dude, please, please just let us in" Finn almost begged.

"Hi, I'm Stacey!" The blonde six year old announced as she popped her head through the open space.

"Hi Stacey! I'm Rachel, and this is Finn" Rachel greeted.

"Well she's up now" Sam shrugged, undoing the latch on the door and letting them inside. "It beats a cardboard box under an underpass" he said, looking around the cluttered room.

"This is everything you own?" Rachel asked sadly.

"We sold everything else" Sam said, looking down.

"I don't understand, what happened?" Finn asked.

"We moved here from Tennessee because my dad got a great job offer and then the economy went to hell. It was last ones in, first ones out. We fell behind on our mortgage payments. You know when the bank takes your house, they literally take it? They come by one morning, kick you out of your own house. Just lock you out." He explained, fighting back tears.

"Why didn't you tell us what was going on?" The taller boy asked.

"You see how information flies around that school. You think everyone would have just treated me the same after they found out? I'd be even more of a freak. Kurt only found out because I got a job delivering pizzas at night to help out, and I happened to bring one to Dalton."

"Yeah, he told us" Finn nodded. "Look, I brought these for you" he said, gesturing to the box of clothes in his arms. "I know Kurt was trying to help you out but I don't really think sequined riding pants are for you, so here's some of my old stuff."

"Thanks" Sam sniffled.

"So what about Quinn?" Rachel asked, unable to help her curiosity.

"We go to the same church" Sam explained. "I couldn't really hide it from her. And it's nice to have someone to bring hot food since we don't have a full kitchen here and take-out gets expensive. Mom and dad are out all day pounding the pavement looking for work, but nothing. Not sure if I'm going to be able to keep on the Glee Club."

"What? No, you can't do that!" Finn said.

"Yeah, we've come so far. And I know it's a rough time right now but you can't quit" Rachel added.

"You guys don't understand" Sam said sadly.

"Yes, we do" Rachel insisted, looking to Finn who stepped outside and then returned a few seconds later with a guitar.

"Quinn told me you sold your guitar" Finn explained.

"Did you guys buy this back for me?" Sam asked, pleasantly shocked.

"The whole Glee Club did" Rachel beamed. "Look Sam, we'll do whatever we can to help. Anything to keep you in the Glee Club until you get back on your feet.

"This is the first time I've cried about it" Sam admitted, wiping the tears away.

"Don't cry Sammy!" Stacey said, coming from behind and wrapping her arms around her older brother.

"We need you Sam, okay? And you need the music" Rachel said, hugging Sam and Stacey. Finn hugged them too, and then they left.

"You can come out now San," Sam announced after clearing his throat.

The pregnant girl came out of the bathroom with tears in her own eyes and pulled Sam into a hug. She'd been staying with them in the cramped motel since they got kicked out of their house the weekend before. She felt guilty about it and offered to go back to her own home, but Mrs. Evans wouldn't allow it. Not after the way her parents had treated her, plus she was a great help with Sam's younger brother and sister and it was good practice. She'd even sold a lot of her own clothes to help out. While she wasn't showing yet, she sold everything that wasn't a loose top or overalls because she was starting to expand slightly and this would work until she absolutely had to buy maternity clothes. She was so glad overalls were coming back in style.

"So", she said to the kids after wiping Sam's and her own eyes, "Who wants to watch a real life music video?" The idea of this really excited the children, and they snuggled under the covers while Sam played the opening chords for the song Santana had chosen for Glee that week.

For you there'll be no crying  
For you the sun will be shining  
'Cause I feel that when I'm with you  
It's alright, I know it's right

And the songbirds keep singing  
Like they know the score  
And I love you, I love you, I love you  
Like never before

To you, I would give the world  
To you, I'd never be cold  
'Cause I feel that when I'm with you  
It's alright, I know it's right

And the songbirds keep singing  
Like they know the score  
And I love you, I love you, I love you  
Like never before

Like never before; like never before.

When they finished, Sam set his guitar down and looked to Santana who had her hands on her stomach, and tears in her eyes. "I love you" he said, kissing her forehead and then moving to her stomach where he also planted a kiss and uttered the words "and you".

"We love you too" Santana cried, running her fingers through his hair. "We love you too."


	9. Chapter 9

"I've been to Ann Taylor Loft, Filene's Basement, and like six Forever 21s and I cannot find a dress that fits. I'm gonna be forced to make my own dress for prom," Lauren whined as she walked into the choir room with some of the other girls.

"Don't, it makes you look poor," Brittany advised.

"You're up for Queen, you can't make your own prom dress. I've had a hard time finding a dress that fits over my massive jugs and hides my little situation and also doesn't look like a tent, but I'm confident I'll find something and you will too. Prom is like our Oscars, it's seriously the most important night of our lives," Santana said.

"We're not getting married," the larger girl replied, rolling her eyes. Santana could be so dramatic sometimes. But maybe this would be the most important night of her life. She was going to be a teenage mother now, she wasn't sure if she was ever going to get married, if she'd ever look this hot again, or if she'd be able to get away with wearing white if someone did end up wanting to marry her. So, maybe this was it for her.

"Oh, you can get married as many times as you want, you only have one shot at your Junior Prom," Quinn added from her seat above them.

"What are you guys talking about?" Mercedes asked as she joined the others in the room.

"Prom dresses," Lauren said.

"Thank God I don't have to worry about that, I'm not going," Mercedes said, trying to act as if she was okay about it.

"Why not?" Lauren asked.

"Because nobody's asked me."

The other girls felt bad for Mercedes, even Santana, and Rachel was about to say something when Mr. Schue came in and told them they would be the entertainment at the prom. Everyone was excited about it, especially Santana. She was now in her second trimester and the spotting wasn't a concern anymore, and she had the energy to dance, but she didn't want to dance with Karofsky more than she had to. He was turning out to be a decent person and they had fun together, but she really wanted to dance with Sam. Fortunately, prom was less than a week away now and they'd be able to end their arrangement soon if all went well. All this prom talk made Mercedes even more depressed, and she stormed out of the classroom. It was Rachel who went after her, she had a plan.

"Is this a surprise party or something because my birthday was last week?" Sam asked as Rachel led him into the auditorium.

"It was? Um, no. Mercedes and I have a proposition for you," she explained.

"We were wondering if you wanted to go to prom with us?" the other girl asked.

"Kind of like a three way date but not the dirty kind."

"That sounds great, but I can't afford to take one girl to the prom, I don't know how I'm going to take two. What's this?" He asked as Rachel slipped a twenty into his hands.

"It's our prom budget."

"You're gonna have to borrow a suit from your dad, and we're gonna buy five dollar dresses down at Goodwill and make our own corsages with flowers from my mom's garden," Mercedes explained.

"We can walk to prom and use what's left to get the $8.99 all you can eat pasta special at Breadstix. But the twenty dollars, it's not charity, it's a loan," Rachel added.

"So will you come with us?"

"It would be an honor," Sam smiled.

Meanwhile in an empty classroom, Tina, Brittany, Lauren, and Santana were trying on their prom dresses for Kurt. Tina and Brittany had already found the perfect dresses for the personalities and now it was Lauren's turn. The poor girl really did have a hard time finding a dress, and came out in a hideous ruffled yellow number.

"I look like a lemon meringue pie," she whined.

"I think you look delicious," Brittany mused.

"Don't despair. Nobody bigger than a size two looks good in a prom dress. They're practically designed to make us look awkward. I think the color is wrong, let's try navy. It's chic and slimming!" Kurt explained, earning nods of agreement from Tina and Brittany. Santana came out from behind the privacy partition next, looking ravishing in a dress that she made Karofksy buy for her. Her parents had cut her off, so she couldn't afford one, and as mean as she could be, she cared about Sam's family and wasn't going to have them pay for one, if they could afford one, that is.

"Devil in a red dress," Kurt said dreamily. "Your boobs look awesome and you can't even see your baby bump. Not that you have one or anything," he clarified after Santana put her hands on her stomach and looked paranoid. "I have no criticisms. Go with God, Satan...Santana! Now if you ladies will excuse me, I have to pull options for my own prom outfit."

"Wait, so you're going? Stag? That's just tragic," the pregnant girl said.

"Yes, I'm going. And not alone, with Blaine," he announced earning cheers from Brittany, Tina, and Lauren.

"Ladies, if you'll excuse me, I have a private fashion question for Kurt," Santana said, pulling him to the other side of the room. "So Kurt, I think you need a full security detail which the Bully Whips and I would be more than happy to provide you with/ You know like the Hells Angels when the Rolling Stones performed at Altamont Speedway. I think that went off without a hitch."

"And why would you do that?" Kurt asked sceptically.

"Because I'll get sympathy votes for Prom Queen. I'll be like the Law and Order Eva Peron candidate. Stretch Marks and Grimace won't stand a chance," she explained honestly. "Seriously though, is this dress okay or do I look all knocked up and shit?"

"You look hot, red is definitely your color, but I'm walking away from you now," Kurt said before leaving the room.

The rest of the week, Santana and Karofsky made sure to look out for Kurt very visibly and loudly. It was very over the top, but Kurt put up with it because he thought it was actually kind of funny, and Santana was confident that they were shoe-ins for King and Queen.

Finally it was prom night, and both teens were getting ready in the cramped hotel room. Mrs. Evans was helping Santana get ready in the bathroom while Mr. Evans was helping his son in the bedroom/living room/kitchen. Fortunately Santana had always been great at doing her own hair and make-up, so she didn't have to worry about figuring out how to pay someone to do it, but the Evans' were so sweet and she was beginning to feel really guilty about going to prom with Karofsky. Of course they had to lie about it too, and pretend they were going together, which she hated. She was really starting to regret her plan. She was angry and desperate when she came up with it, and she just really hoped that it would work. It actually made her feel better that Sam was going now, she felt a little less guilty that way, and just like she and Karofsky had no romantic feelings for eachother, she was one hundred percent confident that Sam had no romantic feelings for Mercedes or Rachel, so that helped. She wouldn't have been so keen on him going with Quinn, but Mercedes and Rachel, she could definitely handle.

"You look beautiful, sweetheart," Mary Evans cried. "My son is very lucky to have you as his date."

Just when she had started to feel a better about the situation, his mom had to go and say that, and the tears started coming.

"Don't cry, honey, you'll ruin your make-up," she said, gently dabbing the girl's cheeks with a tissue.

"Hormones," she explained, but it wasn't just that. Sam's family was so good to her, and she knew she didn't deserve it. She wanted to go to prom with her boyfriend, and she wanted her own mother to help her get ready. She composed herself, and they joined Sam out on the patio where Mary took about 100 pictures of them before they said that they had to go. They left together in Sam's dad's car, but he dropped her off at Karofksy's house before heading over to Rachel's to pick the girls up. It was no surprise that they both ended up at Breadstix with their dates. Sam went because of the special, and Santana went because she was obsessed with it.

"Mercedes, can I just say that you look fierce in your dress," Rachel exclaimed.

"Totally, Mercedes. You both look smokin'" Jesse, who had returned to Lima and joined as Rachel's date, commented.

Sam didn't say anything. He just sat there and he and Santana stole glances at each other all throughout dinner. She was the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen, and he wished more than anything he could be sitting with her but they settled for texting each other under the table the entire time. About half-way through, the texting turned to sexting, and when she confessed that she had ditched her panties in the bathroom, Sam could hardly contain himself. This was going to be a very long night.

Despite not being able to be together, prom started out fun for both of them. Santana had a good time dancing with Karofsky and rolling her eyes at the girl who showed up in the exact same dress as her. Even pregnant, Santana wore it better, she was definitely going to win Prom Queen! And Sam had fun with Mercedes too. Being the entertainment for the night, Santana knew the schedule, so when Rachel headed to the stage to sing "Jar of Hearts" she knew they would have three songs in a row that neither one of them was performing, and then it would be time for the Prom Court announcement.

"Excuse me, I'm not feeling so hot, I'll be right back," She said to Karofsky after making sure that none of the Glee girls were watching her, but Sam was. She took off, and Sam told Mercedes that he had to call home and tell his brother and sister a bedtime story or else they wouldn't go to bed.

"Do you want me to come with you?" She asked.

"No! I mean, no thanks, I get a little embarrassed," he said with a smile and then headed toward the girl's bathroom, but before he got there, Santana, who was in the choir room called out to him.

"Are you okay?" He asked, "I was so worried about you."

"We're great," she said, reaching to turn the speaker on. "I just wanted to dance with my boyfriend."

"You are so beautiful," he said, pulling her closer. They got to spend about ten minutes together as the music played, which was nice, but not nearly enough time. Prom Court was about to be announced, and Santana had to check her hair and re-apply her lip gloss because they ended up doing more than just dancing.

"I need to go back in there now," she said sadly. "Wait a minute after I leave so no one suspects anything."

"This year's Junior Prom King is...David Karofsky!" Principal Figgins announced, and Santana was 100% confident she would be Queen and took the opportunity to rub it in Quinn's face. Only she didn't win, and neither did Quinn, and both girls ran out of the room before they burst into tears. Santana ran straight back to the choir room where Sam was still waiting.

"How could my running mate win and I didn't? I mean, just because I hate everyone, doesn't mean they have to hate me too!" She cried.

"It's just a stupid crown," he said, taking her hand. "You can buy one at the party store."

"I'm gonna be judged the rest of my life. Can't I just have one night where I'm a queen. Where I'm accepted, where I'm still a regular teenager who still has a hot body? As soon as we graduate, if I even will now that Im a statistic, we're moving to a trailer park. Or Tennessee. Maybe a trailer park in Tennessee with all the other teen moms. At least I'll be the hottest one there! I must look fat already...Do I look like a mom?"

"You look like a MILF," Sam said, wiping her tears away. "To be honest, I think the whole school is repulsed by you dating Karofsky. If they knew you were with me, the whole school would have voted for you. You're awesome and you need to embrace it."

"How do you know?" Santana sniffed.

"Because I voted for you. Because I believe in you. Because you're the hottest piece of action at this school," he reassured her.

"This prom sucks, what am I supposed to do now?"

"Go back out there and be there for Kurt. It's going to be a lot harder for him than it is for you," he said before kissing her one more time and heading back. Santana took a minute to compose herself before she headed back to gym. She and Mercedes performed "Dancing Queen," and they rocked it.


	10. Chapter 10

a/n: sorry this chapter took me too long! Sorry, I keep saying sorry! Lol. I have neglected my other story even more than I've neglected this one lately, so I'm going to write another chapter for that before I get to work on the chapter for Nationals. I know my last few chapters have followed the show pretty closely, but I do have plans for what's going to happen with this story during the summer, so I will definitely still be updating. It'll be nice to do whatever I want with it and not have the pressure to get something up before I get too behind episode-wise, and the chapters will also be more original! Thanks again for the reviews, you guys are the best!

Since the news of her pregnancy had broken, Santana had done a pretty good job avoiding Coach Sylvester. She was so glad she quit the Cheerios before it all happened, and Sue had still gotten a few jabs in since then, but luckily, not about the pregnancy so far. There was that comment about her boobs being bigger, but no one knew about the baby at the time, so it was just Sue being mean. She was sure her former coach had said stuff behind her back, which was fine, as long as she didn't know about it, but she didn't want to deal with her in person. With her hormones all over the place, she figured she would probably cry, and she certainly didn't want Sue or the rest of the school to see her like that. So, when Finn and Kurt suggested they plan a funeral service for Coach Sylvester's sister, Santana was against the idea. She hated to be a bitch, but she just didn't think she could handle it. Fortunately for Santana, the rest of the group was opposed to the idea at first too, so it didn't make her seem so horrible.

"We're not doing it for Sue, we're doing it for her sister," Kurt explained.

"Jean is just like us guys. I mean, she's been an outsider her whole life. We of all people should celebrate that," Finn added.

Santana was about to say something again, but fortunately she didn't have to. Jesse St. James, who was there as a show choir consultant, whatever the fuck that was, spoke up.

"Can I just say something?" he began. "When someone dies, yes it's a tragedy, but it's also a part of life. And you can't let death put your life on hold. Now, I don't mean to be blunt, but I don't think you should be planning a funeral the same week you should be focusing on a set list for Nationals."

Most of the kids were nodding in agreement with the obnoxious curly haired boy, the three former cheerleaders the most enthusiastically, but Finn was persistent. "Seriously? You're serious?" He asked.

Jesse insisted that he was, rambling on about Vocal Adrenaline and how they were rehearsing non-stop, on IV drips, and how when a member dies they become a prop. Something like that, Santana wasn't listening too carefully, her baby hormones were making her seriously moody and all she could think about was how much she hated his hair. God, he looked like a douchebag. He and that midget were perfect for eachother, she had decided.

"No. Thanks for your input Jesse, but we're helping Sue with the service for her sister. Rachel, you said I need to be more of a leader for this club, well here it goes: I'm making the call, we're doing this," Finn decided, and no one argued. He was right, Santana supposed, they should do this for Jean.

The next day, Mr. Schue and Jesse were holding auditions to find out who was the most talented member of the Glee Club, and therefore perform a solo or duet at Nationals. Naturally, Kurt, Rachel, and Mercedes signed up, but to everyone's surprise, the first name on the list was Santana. Here was a girl who barely ever sang at all last year, and now she wanted to perform at the most important competition of their high school careers. Santana knew she could do it, she may not always be as eager to sing as Rachel, or as good at girly showtunes as Kurt, or as big a diva as Mercedes was, but she knew she was just as good in her own little way and she was ready to prove it. So, she performed Amy Winehouse's "Back To Black" and she nailed it.

"Fantastic, Santana!" Mr. Schue exclaimed while clapping enthusiastically. Santana was pleased, but not at all surprised. She had done a great job, so she looked to Jesse, eager to hear what he had to say.

"Thanks for coming in," he commented, leaving the girl a little miffed.

"Wait, that's all you have to say? You spent the entire performance scribbling notes!" She argued

"Well if you really must know, I was simply writing down that I don't think your perforamance went very deep into the emotional truth of the song," he explained, and Mr. Schue looked over at Jesse's notepad where he had drawn a picture of a cat.

"Oh, is that so? Well, I happen to have some feedback for you!"

"Thanks Santana, that's all we'll need," Mr. Schuester interrupted.

"I'm about to go All Lima Heights!" She added, but Mr. Schue just thanked her again and hurried her off the stage.

Kurt was next, and he also did a great job. Of course, Jesse wasn't a fan, saying that it was a girly song and based on who had covered it before, it was some big shoes to fill. Of course that didn't sit well with Kurt either.

"Jesse St. James totally Jesse St. Sucks!" he exclaimed as he stormed into the choir room. "He said I shouldn't be singing girl songs. I make my living singing girl songs!"

"I think the winner of four show choir championships might be able to give us some valuable insight," Rachel said.

"We know you're in love with him Rachel, but do you have to be so obvious?" Mercedes asked.

"Don't use the fact that Jesse and I once had feelings for each other as an excuse for my inevitable win," the shorter girl replied.

"Correction," Kurt interrupted, "You has feelings for him, he made breakfast on your head."

"Look, Jesse and I both appreciate the integrity of show choir too much to soil the competition. He's just gonna vote for whoever is best," She explained, but was obviously meaning and thinking that she was best.

"That would be me," Santana added confidently, "you guys can fight over whoever comes in second all you want because I kicked that song square in the balls. I'm so gonna win this thing."

"Don't bother warming up, Rachel," Mercedes said getting up from her seat. "I'm about to wrap this thing up like a Christmas present."

Mercedes also performed brilliantly, but not surprisingly, Jesse was unimpressed and called her lazy, but Rachel might have been the best of the day. The other three kids snuck in during her performance, and Kurt was especially impressed. "She may be difficult, but boy can she sing!" He said before standing up and cheering. Santana just rolled her eyes and pulled him down, he was being ridiculous.

"I have to be honest," Jesse said predictably. "That was brilliant. I have nothing but the tip of my hat."

"Garbage! This whole thing is rigged!" Santana said, disgusted by what she thought was Jesse's blatant favoritism. She was still pissed that he wasn't as in love with her own performance.

"Hold on Santana, like I said, I make the final call here," Mr. Schue interjected, trying to smooth everything over.

"Well then make it!" Mercedes demanded, equally as annoyed as Santana was.

"Out of respect to all of you, I'm gonna take a few days to let you know the results. I'll let you know by Friday. Great job everyone."

They had Jean's funeral to focus on now, and although it was a sad situation, it did keep them from bugging Mr. Schuester about it too much. They had decided on a Willy Wonka theme and were going to perform "Pure Imagination". It was beautiful and they wouldn't have needed much practice on it if it weren't for Santana. It took many many times for her to get through it without crying, due to her hormones and the rest of the club was trying not to show their annoyance with her.

"Santana, do you need to sit this out?" Mr. Schuester finally asked after about the tenth time they tried to get through it.

"I really think you should consider it Santana, the emotional stress is probably not good for the baby, and some of us just aren't meant to sing in every genre," Rachel said patronizingly.

"Leave Santana alone!" Quinn demanded as she moved to stand next to the pregnant girl and put a reassuring hand on her back. The girls may have had their differences over the past year or so, they both could be bitches to eachother but they had been friends since middle school and Quinn was the only person there who knew what Santana was going through. She knew all about the fatigue, the nausea, and the hormones that could make you feel like you had some type of serious mental illness. So, she was going to be there for her.

That was what Santana needed to pull herself together. Rachel was annoying, and clearly thought she was better than everyone else. Sure she may have been slightly concerned for her emotional state and possibly the baby's health as well. But what would crying during a song hurt the baby? It was also Rachel's fault she was in this mess. Her and her stupid house party-trainwreck-extravaganza! So, she wasn't going to give Rachel the satisfaction. She could also see Sam struggling with not being able to come over and comfort her and she felt bad about that. So she knew she had to get through it, and think about anything else.

"I'm okay, I'm okay, I can do this," she assured everyone. And she was able to do it. They got through it three times perfectly, and on Thursday during the service, although it was very sad and even Santana had to admit the videos of Jean were very touching, it went off without a hitch. Santana had also managed to avoid Sue all week too. They'd been near each other, of course, but Sue was so grief stricken that she was in no mood to be mean to anyone. Of course, seeing this, it made Santana feel horrible. Sue was mean, but Santana felt bad that she had lost the person she loved most in the world.

"I miss my family," Santana sobbed onto Sam's shoulder that evening on the motel patio. "I'm thankful for yours, and I love you all, but I miss my parents. Sue's speech about her sister really got to me. That thing about the tether. My mom and I used to be so close and now she hasn't spoken to me in weeks and refused to stick up for me to my dad. It just hurts. How am I going to do this without them?"

"Shhhh, we're your family now. This baby and I," he reassured, placing a hand on her now slightly rounded abdomen. "You'll always have us."

"I know, and I appreciate that, I do. It just hurts," she sniffled. "I know I can be a bitch, but they're my parents. This baby isn't even born yet and I can't imagine being so angry that I cut ties with it."

"They'll come around. As soon as the baby is born, they'll be back in the picture, I'm sure. You've seen my baby pictures, and I'm sure you were cute too, our baby is going to be adorable!" he explained.

"I hope it has your mouth," she laughed.

"Oh God, I hope it has yours! hope it has your everything. But if it's a girl, I hope she's not as sexy as you. I don't want her to get pregnant at seventeen," he joked, earning a slap from his girlfriend.

"And she's definitely NOT getting a boob job," he added. "Those things are trouble!"

"Oh whatever, you love them!" She smirked.

"Yes I do," he agreed nodding.

"I hope we're good at this," she said seriously after a few moments.

"We will be. We're young but we love our baby and we're going to do our best. It'll be hard, but we'll be okay. Come on, let's go inside. Quinn is on her way over with dinner," he said, helping her up.

"This doesn't make any sense," Santana said the next day in front of the bulletin board at school.

"Guys, it was a difficult decision but it's for the good of the club," Jesse explained, sounding incredibly insincere and douchey.

"Although this is deeply personal, try not to take it personally," Rachel added.

"Um you guys might want to read what the list says," Kurt said, nodding to the bulletin board.

"What, why?" Rachel asked, clearly confused. She was sure she was going to get the solo. Not only was she best, but Jesse assured her that she would.

"Mr. Schue, thank God you're here to put these trolls out of their misery," Santana exclaimed as their teacher entered the room. "Can you just announce my win so I can get on with teasing the losers?"

"I heard your performance, Santana. This is mine and you know it," Kurt added.

"See Jesse," Mr. Schuester pointed out, "this is the kind of in-fighting and me first attitude that I wanted to avoid."

"What you call fighting, I call motivation. And this is just the beginning. Once we get to Nationals, I'll have them willing to kill each other for that solo."

"No, I changed my mind," Mr. Schue decided. "We're going back to what got us here. Original songs sung by the entire club. We're a team, and we're best when we work as one."

"You're going to lose," Jesse announced.

"Whatever we do, we're going to do together."

"Actually, Santana, you sounded pretty good," Kurt admitted.

"Thanks, you guys were pretty dope too. Even Rachel" she said, casually.

"I wish I could sound like you do, Santana" Rachel gushed, turning to the pregnant girl. "How do you get that raspy-ness?"

"How nice. I spent three months puking my guts out and now that that's over, I have constant heartburn. The only thing I can take for it is TUMS, which is a fucking joke. My esophagus is pretty much raw," she explained, making Rachel sorry she asked.

"Okay then," the shorter girl said cheerily, "let's write some songs!"


	11. Chapter 11

"Sam, Sam, wake up," Santana whispered as she snuck into the boys' hotel room on their second morning in New York.

"Why?" he mumbled as he wiped his mouth and slowly sat up.

"The baby wants a pretzel. And a churro. And a pickle."

"But it's 6:30 in the morning," he tried to reason after looking at his watch.

"But YOUR baby really wants it. Please?" she whined.

"Fine, you wait in the hallway before anyone wakes up and sees you in here, and I'll be out in five minutes." He couldn't resist the puppy-dog eyes she made, or the baby.

"I can't wait for us to be together openly," Sam said a short time later as they walked through Central Park with their breakfast. "Karofsky's dad made him break up with you almost a week ago when he found out you were pregnant. I'm just ready for everyone to know I'm in love with you!"

"Let's just wait until the school year is over. I'm tired of being the topic of conversation around here, and we have Nationals and then finals to focus on. People can find out slowly and then by the time school starts again, it'll be old news. I'll probably be so big by then that they'll talk about that," she explained, noticing a beautiful duck pond that she'd have to bring Brittany to later.

"I can't wait for you to be big, you're going to be so sexy," Sam said, leaning over to kiss her.

"Oh please, I'm going to look disgusting. Just promise me you'll lie and say I still look hot."

"I won't have to lie, you'd be hot if you weighed three hundred pounds."

"Ugh, gross", she sighed before taking another bite of her food.

"Speaking of gross, I can't believe you're eating a churro with a pickle," he laughed.

"Hey, don't knock it until you've tried it!" The pregnant girl said defensively. "Do you want some?"

"No, I'm good. Besides, I don't want to deprive the baby."

"I'm just glad we found a place that sells them so early, but now I want a Root Beer," she said before putting her hand to her stomach and sitting down on the nearest bench. Sam was gagging and walking forward so it took him a few seconds before he realized she wasn't walking with him anymore.

"Santana, what's wrong, are you in pain?" He asked, rushing back to her.

"I'm fine, I'm pretty sure I felt the baby move," she smiled and began to tear up.

"Are you it wasn't gas? It's still kind of early, you're barely even showing." He asked.

"I'm pretty sure," she smiled. "I'm fifteen weeks, so I could feel it any time. I've never had gas that felt like that before! Not that girls get gas, or anything."

"Can I feel?" He asked, reaching his hand out.

"You can try but I doubt you'll be be able to feel it yet. It was really light," she explained, taking his hand and placing it on her tiny bump. They sat there for a few more minutes, and unfortunately neither one felt the baby move any more. It was still early though, and they knew they would have plenty of chances to feel it.

"We should probably head back before anyone else wakes up and realizes we're both missing," Sam said. "We've got that song writing seminar at 9:00."

"Okay," she sighed. "I wish I could just sit here with you all day though."

"I wish you could too," he said, before kissing her.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Quinn, quit hogging the bathroom. I needs to get my tinkle on!" Santana shouted as she banged on the bathroom door. "Doesn't she get it?" She asked turning to Brittany. "She's been pregnant before!"

"It's all yours," Quinn said in an annoyed tone as she emerged a few seconds later.

"Everyone's already in the other room working," Santana explained.

"Oh yeah? Is Mr. Schue still in there? Because I think I'm gonna tell him that you and Sam keep sneaking off! Yes, I've noticed," she said, looking to Santana.

"We're working out baby arrangements," Santana offered but Quinn obviously didn't believe her.

"You can't do that," Brittany said. "He'll have to suspend them!"

"And then there goes our chances at Nationals, darn!"

Santana didn't know what was up with Quinn, but something was definitely going on, and it concerned her a little bit. It also really pissed her off and she had to speak up.

"You know what? We get it! You're pissed about Finn dumping your sweet ass. Get over it!"

"I don't want to get over it, okay!" Quinn shouted back.

"The only person you're sabotaging here is yourself," Santana replied as calmly as she could.

"I don't care about some stupid show choir competition!"

"Well you should, because this is the one chance that we have to actually feel good about ourselves."

"Aren't we supposed to be the popular girls?" Quinn asked, turning to Santana. "So why can't we have our dreams come true? She has love," She said, gesturing to Brittany. "Tina has it, even Zizes hooks up! I just want somebody to love me," she cried and sat down on the bed.

"I think I know what will make you feel better," Santana said, sitting next to Quinn and putting an arm around her.

"Thanks Santana, but pickles and ice cream doesn't sound good when you're not pregnant," she said, wiping her eyes.

"No, no, I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about a hair cut."

"Yes, totally," Brittany said in agreement.

"Okay, I really have to pee now!" Santana announced, breaking herself away from the hug and running off to the bathroom.

xxxxxxxxxxx

"I hate Rachel," Santana whined to Sam a few days later at their motel room in Lima.

"You need to let it go," Sam said, rubbing her back. "I hated losing too, but we don't know that that's why we lost. We were totally unprepared. We wrote our songs the day before the competition and went through them like three times."

"Why are you taking her side?" Santana cried. "Do you like her better than me?"

"I'm not taking sides, and you know I love you! Look, it's just a silly show choir competition, and there's always next year."

"It's important to me okay? If you tell anyone else, I'll deny it, but it's kind of the best part of my day. Besides coming home to you, of course. And who knows if I'll even be able to go to any of the competitions next year, I'll have a baby to take care of."

"Hey, Santana, I told you we're in this together. I'm confident that we'll all be able to go to the competitions next year, but if you can't go, then I can't either."

"I can't ask you to do that," she cried.

"You're not asking, I'm insisting," he said, taking her hand.

"You always know how to make me feel better," she smiled.

"I know what will really make you feel better. Let's go get you a chai latte," he suggested.

"But we can't afford it!"

"I have a little bit of money, we can do this once in a while, and right now, you definitely need it!" He said, pulling her too her feet.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Oh my God, you should have seen it," Kurt said to Blaine as they sat in The Lima Bean. "We all look at the top ten list for showcase and we all just went numb. And then Jesse went on and on about how Rachel and Finn's kiss is what cost us Nationals"

"While I understand passion, I do think that was unprofessional," Blaine interrupted, "but go on."

"Okay, then we get back to the hotel room and Santana loses it. It was all in Spanish but it was something about being from Lima Heights Adjacent, and bad things happening there. But she was screaming at Rachel at the top of her lungs. It took Sam, Mike, and Quinn to hold her back."

"She's from the ghetto? I thought her dad was a doctor? I mean, everyone in Lima knows about Dr. Lopez ," Blaine said

"I thought so too, so I didn't really get it either. Anyway, so the plane ride home was completely silent. Like, no one said a word. We all sat there with our faces buried in our complimentary copies of Sky Mall."

"I don't get it, you don't seem that sad at all," Blaine said.

"It was still amazing. I flew on a plane for the first time in my life, I had breakfast at Tiffany's, I sang on a Broadway stage."

"I love you," Blaine said, before he could go any further.

"I love you too," Kurt said smiling. "You know, when you think about it, Kurt Hummel has had a pretty great year. Hey, speak of the devil!" He said as he saw Sam and Santana walk through the door.

"Hey, what are you guys doing here?" Blaine asked.

"Just getting some coffee," Sam explained nervously.

"Well, I'm getting a chai latte. We ran into each other in the parking lot," Santana added. "And you know, we need to talk about baby stuff."

"How are you feeling, Santana?" Blaine asked. "I haven't seen you in a few weeks, you look great!"

"Thanks, I feel great," she smiled.

They nervously caught up for a few minutes. Talking about Blaine's plans to perform in the summer show at Six Flags and Kurt's plans to compose a musical about Pippa Middleton. When Sam said he had know idea who that was, Santana started cracking up and had to excuse herself before she peed her pants.

"Do you think they know?" She asked as she joined Sam back in the line.

"No one knows" he smiled as he took her hand.

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"Hey, are you still pissed?" Brittany asked the next day at school.

"Do you think this voodoo doll looks enough like Rachel Berry to actually work?" Santana asked in response.

"Come on, you can't be mad at her forever."

"Uh, yes we can." Santana argued. "How could you possibly be so calm?"

"I don't know, I hated losing just as much as everyone but this year wasn't about winning for me."

"Clearly, because we got our asses kicked! Sorry, what was it about?" Santana asked after calming down.

"Acceptance. I know that all the kids in the Glee Club, they fight, and they steal each other's boyfriends and girlfriends, and they threaten to quit like every other week, but stuff like that happens in families."

"Well, this is a club, this is not a family," Santana said.

"Okay, well, family is a place where everyone loves you no matter what and they accept you for who you are. I know I'm gonna be a bridesmaid in Mike and Tina's wedding and I'm gonna be anxiously waiting just like everyone else to see if their babies are Asian too. When they find an operation to make Artie's legs work again, I'm gonna be there for his first steps. I love them, I love everyone in Glee Club, and I get to spend another year with everyone else I love. So I'm good," Brittany explained.

Brittany may have been right. If that's what a family was, then the Glee Club was the only family Santana had, besides Sam's family. They may have been dysfunctional, and certain members may have been more annoying than others, but deep down they truly cared for each other, and they always had each other's backs. I mean, they'd been surprisingly good to Santana when they found out she was pregnant, even though she was a raging bitch to them most of the time. And they'd helped Sam out as much as they could when they found out he was homeless. They were a family, for better or for worse.

"What about you and I?" Santana asked, noticing that Brittany hadn't mentioned her in her little speech.

"I love you Santana. I love you more than I've ever loved anyone else in the world. And I can't wait to be your baby's favorite aunt and be there for all of it's firsts"

"You're my best friend" Santana sighed, pulling Brittany into a hug.

"Yeah, me too."

"When did you get so smart? This baby is going to love it's Aunt Brittany."


	12. Chapter 12

Santana was finally approved for Medicaid during the eighteenth week of her pregnancy. It hadn't been easy to prove that although her dad had a big income, she no longer lived with him and wasn't covered under his killer insurance plan. She and Mrs. Evans had been to the Department of Human Services several times with hotel bills, and answered question after question about their living situation, and finally they were able to convince them. It was just in time too, Santana had read that an ultrasound could determine the baby's sex anytime between sixteen and twenty weeks, and they were dying to know. They also needed to make sure everything was going smoothly because she hadn't been to the doctor since her first trimester. She had already beginning to feel the baby move fairly regularly, but it would still be nice for peace of mind.

"This place is so much better than that awful free clinic," Santana commented as she laid on the examination table waiting for the doctor. It may not have been as fancy as her plastic surgeon's office, but it was a nice, normal office with bonzai plants, modern art, and new, clean cabinets. Despite the fact that the free clinic seemed to employ people that were unnaturally and annoyingly chipper, it was an extremely depressing place to be, and they seemed to push for abortions. And since her feelings were still so mixed about that, it was nice to not have that constantly shoved in her face.

"Yeah", Sam said quietly. He still wasn't quite comfortable talking about Santana's "lady parts" and the last appointment he went to, they not only talked about them, the doctor started examining them….while Sam was still in the room!

"Are you okay?" She asked, noticing that he wasn't being his usual self.

"Yeah. Doctor's offices make me nervous. Especially when they talk about uteruses, and vaginas and breasts."

"Since when do you not like talking about my breasts? You usually have no problem talking about them. And they're great!"

"Oh, they're definitely great. And I have no problem talking about them when it's just you. It's just weird talking about them with a middle aged man. Anyways, the vagina and uterus talk disturbs me more than the boob talk," he smirked, and then promptly shuddered as he looked at the various diagrams displayed around the room.

"I can't believe how it has to come out of you," He said, looking at one that showed how the cervix dilates.

"Oh God, I know! I'm trying not to think about that part too much right now. But I've already decided I'm going to get my anesthesia on. There's no way I'm doing _that_," she explained pointing to the dilation poster, "without drugs!"

"Oh, I don't blame you. I would worry about your sanity if you said you wanted to do it naturally. I think I'm going to need drugs too."

"Whatever, just don't pass out on me or I'll never let you live it down. And _do not _watch it come out!"

"Fine by me. I don't need to see that….stuff," he said, making another thoroughly disgusted face.

They were both laughing when there was a knock on the door.

"Hello Ms. Lopez, I'm Dr. Wu. It's nice to meet you, " the middle aged Asian man said extending his hand. "Is this the father?" He asked, gesturing toward Sam.

"Yes, sir. I'm Sam Evans."

"It's nice to meet you too. Now Ms. Lopez, I see that you are eighteen weeks. Your blood pressure is great, your urinalysis came back great. You've only gained seven pounds though, and since you were underweight before your pregnancy, we would have liked to see you gain a little more than that. How are you feeling? Any nausea?" He asked, gently feeling Santana's bump.

"I've been feeling great the last few weeks. I had some nausea but that went away a few weeks ago. The only thing now is bad heartburn."

"Unfortunately that's just a pretty standard part of pregnancy. You can take TUMS to help with the symptoms." He explained."You should be feeling the baby move if you haven't already."

"Yeah, I was pretty sure I felt it a couple of weeks ago, and now I'm definitely sure I have," Santana smiled confidently.

"Sounds great, usually thinner moms do feel their babies move earlier, but it wouldn't really be a concern if you hadn't felt it yet. Today you're mostly here for the ultrasound, so my part is done. You can get dressed, and head to the third door on your right. If the baby cooperates, she should be able to tell you the sex if you want. Then I'll go over the scans and call you if there's any reason to. Otherwise I'll see in in about another month. Keep up the good work." He smiled and offered a hand to help Santana up.

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"Ms. Lopez, I'm Kelly, I'm the ultrasound technician, I'm ready for you" she smiled and led the teens into a dark room. "Mom, you can lay down here and pull down the top of your pants a little bit, and we'll get started. Dad, you can have a seat right here." It still felt so strange to be called "mom" and "dad" and the teenagers didn't know when they would get used to it, but for now they definitely weren't.

Kelly squirted some of that freezing gel on Santana's stomach and she fought the urge to jump. She didn't understand why they couldn't warm it up.

"I can already tell the sex, if you'd like to know," she smiled and looked at the teenagers.

Santana looked at Sam and he just nodded. "Yes, we want to know!" She said enthusiastically.

"You're going to have a beautiful baby girl" She said, turning the screen toward them and pointing between her legs.

Santana immediately looked at Sam, who had tears in his eyes. "Are you disappointed? I know you probably wanted a son. All guys do."

"I'm not disappointed" Sam explained emphatically. "These are happy tears, she's beautiful."

"You are such a dork," She laughed, but she was trying to suppress her own happy tears. She still had to keep that tough girl image somewhat in-tact, although by now Sam definitely knew better. She definitely wasn't thrilled about the prospect of becoming a teen mom, but it was happening, and she did love her baby. Finding out it was a girl made it so much more real. The technician turned the screen back so she could finish the scan, explaining that she was just going to check to make sure the baby was developing normally and then she didn't really say anything else. Santana and Sam didn't notice though, they were too busy thinking about their daughter. Finally, the technician told them she was finished, wiped Santana off, and they headed to the front desk to schedule their next appointment.

"Are you hungry?" He asked as they left the office.

"Seriously? You're seriously asking a pregnant girl if she's hungry?" She scoffed.

"Okay, I'll take that as a yes. I think I can spring for lunch today, it's kind of a special occasion. I'll take my girls to any fast food place they'd like" He smiled.

"Well then, your girls would like some Taco Bell," Santana said, still finding it hard to believe that they knew the gender of their baby already, but figured the more she said it, the more it would sink it

Twenty minutes later, Sam was sitting there, watching in awe as Santana devoured her third bean burrito. "You're so sexy," he smirked. "I love a girl who can eat."

"Oh please, it's disgusting how hungry I am. I'm surprised I've only gained seven pounds. Not that I'm complaining though! Not particularly looking forward to looking like a cow," She shuddered. "Seriously though, these bean burritos are like the food of the Gods or something. They're addicting!"

Santana was rambling about the burritos being addicting and joking that they probably put crack in them and that their baby would probably be a crack baby when her cell phone ring. Sam could tell by the tone in her voice and by the fact her beautiful tan skin had turned noticeably pale, that something was up.

"That was Dr. Wu. He wants us to come back after lunch to discuss the ultrasound". She explained. They hadn't been through this before, but they both knew that that couldn't be a good sign. They were told they wouldn't have to come back for four weeks, and now their doctor wanted to see them again in twenty minutes? Santana promptly ran to the bathroom to vomit and then they were on their way.

a/n: cliffhanger! Why do you think Dr. Wu wants to talk to them about it? Let me hear your thoughts!


	13. Chapter 13

The five minutes Santana and Sam waited for Dr. Wu to return to his office were the longest five minutes of either of their lives. The moment he returned, Santana could tell by the look on his face that something was very wrong.

"I'm afraid I've got some bad news", he said as he sat down across the desk from the scared teenagers, and pulled out the scans. "We detected what is referred to as a lemon sign on the ultrasound."

Santana and Sam just stared at him blankly, not knowing what that meant.

"It means that there is an abnormality with the way your baby's head is shaped. Occasionally at this stage it's nothing, but usually it's a sign of a condition called Hydrocephalus which usually goes along with Spina Bifida," he continued.

Sam was still confused, but Santana burst into tears. She had been volunteering as a Candy Striper in her dad's hospital since she was in middle school. She didn't know a lot about Spina Bifida but she knew it was bad. As a volunteer, she didn't always know what the patients she brought flowers to were in for, but sometimes they, or their parents, would volunteer information or speak about things while she was in the room. She remembered one little girl who received gifts and flowers regularly, who was eight years old who died of kidney failure related to Spina Bifida last summer. Now they found out their little girl was likely to have it too. They were barely listening as Dr. Wu explained all the horrible problems that can accompany both conditions; Paralysis, brain damage, loss of bladder and bowel control, infections, kidney failure, and shunt malfunctions. They had no idea what a shunt was, but a malfunction with it didn't sound good at all.

"Was it something I did?" Santana managed to ask in between sobs."I mean I haven't had a drink since I found out I was pregnant, but I was definitely drunk when she was conceived, and I did drink a lot that first week. Did I cause this?" She was almost hysterical with fear and guilt, and Sam, who was just as scared as she was, pulled her closer to him and planted a reassuring kiss on the side of her head.

"While I don't condone teenage drinking, I can assure you it was nothing you did," Dr. Wu explained, passing her a box of tissues. "Trust me, most of the babies I deliver are the result of over indulgence in alcohol, and they're usually fine. We don't know what exactly causes Spina Bifida, but we believe it has something to do with a lack of Folic Acid in the mother's diet. We usually recommend that a woman who wants a baby takes a supplement for three months before trying to conceive, and that does reduce the risk of a baby being born with it. However, considering your age, I am going to go out on a limb and guess that this pregnancy wasn't exactly planned. We also don't know the reason for this but studies show that Latina mothers do have the highest rates of babies born with the condition. But like I said, sometimes the 'Lemon Sign', as we refer to it, doesn't mean anything."

"Well I have been feeling her kick; that has to be a good sign, right?" She asked, trying to be cautiously optimistic.

"It might be. At this stage though, the movements are still very light, and it's often hart do tell if you're feeling arms or legs, or just general movement. Unfortunately, it doesn't always mean that the baby won't have some form of paralysis in its lower extremities."

"How do we know for sure?" Sam asked, squeezing his girlfriend's hand.

"I'd like you to get a 3D or 4D ultrasound, in a few weeks. That'll give us a much clearer picture and we should be able to know for sure what is going on by then. And then we can proceed from there. You would be able to get a late term abortion in a case like this…"

"This isn't a case, this is my daughter we're talking about," Santana cried, she may have been a bitch, but she wasn't that cruel. She had grown attached to the baby, and although she'd only known for about an hour that it was going to be a girl, the fact that they now knew made it seem even more real. It wasn't a case, or a blob of cells, or even a fetus to her. It was her baby, her daughter. She wasn't going to have an abortion because it may have been more convenient. It was possible that their baby may have more struggles than the average baby would have, but a life with struggles was better than no chance at life at all.

"I'm sorry Miss Lopez, I didn't mean it like that," he tried assuring her. "If she does indeed have Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus, we can also plan for the best course of action. Usually, we would schedule a c-section, as it seems to cause less damage to the spine, and we would arrange for a team of specialists to be present at the birth to assist the baby right away. It's best if they perform the spinal surgery as soon as possible after birth."

They talked to Dr. Wu for a few more minutes, but most of it was a blur for them. Upon leaving, they scheduled appointment for a 4D ultrasound that was to take place in a few weeks, and knew they'd have to figure out a way to come up with the money to pay for it. They walked out to Sam's truck where they just sat for a while. Santana cried hysterically for a good twenty minutes, while Sam held her. Eventually he couldn't be strong, and he broke down too.

"I'm sorry I'm such a bitch." She sobbed.

"What? You're not a bitch, you're feisty, and fiery and sexy," he reassured her.

"No, I'm a bitch. I make fun of everyone, including Artie, and this is obviously Karma, or God punishing me or something."

"Hey, it doesn't work like that. God doesn't punish people for making jokes, especially babies. And you're not mean, you're just honest, and funny. I know most of what you say isn't really serious. I know you like Artie, I've seen you have fun with him."

"I do, and I feel bad for him too. God, Sam, what if our baby can't walk? What if she has difficulties like Becky does?" She cried.

"Becky has Down's Syndrome. That's completely different. And our baby may not be able to walk, that's a possibility, but we'll love her and she'll have a good life."

"But Dr. Wu said she may have brain damage," Santana sobbed.

"Babe, he also said she may be just fine. Let's try not to worry until we know for sure. " He said, kissing her head.

"I'll try." She sighed.

"Good girl." Let's go home," he suggested, and they rode the rest of the way in silence.

a/n: okay, so this is sad, and I feel bad for coming up with this after most of you guessed it would be something pretty minor. But, I came up with this idea almost as soon as I started to write this story. I've read lots of teen pregnancy stories, but I don't think I've ever read one where teen parents deal with a special needs child. So, I thought it would be interesting. I thought about giving the baby Down's Syndrome, but that's already been done on the show twice, and then I read that Spina Bifida is the most common birth defect. So I'm going with that. I'll admit, I do know a bit about pregnancy/birth/and babies, but I don't know a lot about Spina Bifida. I used to know one person that had it but we were never really close and it was a while ago, so all my info, I got from the internet! I've been reading about it for a while and just waiting until Santana was far enough along to go with this storyline. I hope I am being accurate and doing this story justice. So if anyone reading this happens to know a little about it and wants to make corrections, please let me know! And please review! :)


	14. Chapter 14

a/n: and it's official, I suck! I am so so sorry it took so long to update this chapter. I had to do some more research and I just had major writer's block. This chapter is pretty short, and it's a lot of medical stuff and explanations, and I struggled with it a lot. Hopefully my next chapter will be easier for me and more interesting, at least I do have some ideas as to what to include in it. Thanks so much for the reviews, y'all are the best!

The next two weeks dragged on for Sam and Santana. They thought they couldn't go by any slower. And there was a lot of crying. Obviously, they told Sam's parents what was going on, but they had decided not to tell anyone else until they knew for sure. Bill and Mary Evans had accepted the pregnancy by now, even though the situation was not ideal, and their son's childhood was officially over. Still, they thought all babies were blessings, and they had actually been really looking forward to finding out the sex of the baby. Bill finally got a job. It didn't pay as well as his old job, but it was better than nothing, and they were finally able to move out of the motel and into a small rental house in a safe neighborhood. Mary was looking forward to buying her grandchild's first frilly pink dress or soft, fuzzy football. The news that the baby was going to be a girl, however, was overshadowed by the fact that she may be born with serious health problems. Bill was pretty quiet, and it was obvious that he was sad, and Mary was heartbroken. She tried not to cry about it too much in front of the expectant parents, but sometimes she couldn't help it and she was almost as bad as Santana.

Keeping the news from their friends was hard. They were thankful it was summer though, it would have been impossible if school was still in session. The girls, of course, knew that Santana should have found out the sex by then, and Brittany, Quinn, and even Rachel were regularly texting her, asking if she knew anything yet. All she would say was "no," and that would be that. She wasn't ready to get into it yet. They'd asked a few times when she would know, but she ignored those texts. Brittany had tried to hang out with her a few times, and all of the Glee kids had even gotten together for pool parties, or the girls would go to the mall, and she'd always made excuses, saying that she didn't feel well. She felt guilty about that, but she wasn't ready to talk about it yet, especially when they didn't know for sure.

"Are you ready?" Sam asked, helping her off the couch.

"No," she sighed. Today, it would most likely be confirmed that their baby would have Spina Bifida. Neither one of them had slept much in the last two weeks, so it would be nice to know, but it was so heartbreaking that something might be wrong with their baby.

"Are you sure you don't want my mom to come?"

"Yeah," she replied. "We need to do this ourselves. Plus , I don't know who she could find to watch Stacey and Stevie on such short notice." Santana would have loved for Sam's mom, or even her mom to be there for support, but they had to be the adults now. Only they weren't adults, they were seventeen years old. Any one of the Glee girls would have probably been able to come over and watch Sam's siblings for the afternoon, but Santana knew they'd ask questions, and she wasn't ready for that. So, they went on their own.

The ultrasound seemed to take forever, and the technician didn't say much. The gel was cold again, and the pressure on her full bladder was really uncomfortable, but Santana didn't complain this time. She figured with everything her baby might have to deal with, bitching about those things would be pretty ridiculous. Finally it was over, and the high risk obstetrician didn't take long looking at the scans before calling them back. Sam and Santana didn't know whether that was a good sign or not. The grim expression on his face when they entered the office immediately told them it was not.

"I'm sorry to tell you, but your baby does have Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus. It's Myelomeningocele, which is the most severe form, which means part of her spine is open and the cord is protruding through the opening. The good news is that the malformation is low enough on her spine that she'll probably be able to walk. Although it's likely she'll wear leg braces and probably have to use crutches or a walker. I'm going to refer you to a neonatologist and a neurosurgeon so you can be a little more prepared, and you'll need regular ultrasounds to monitor the baby's cerebrospinal fluid. I'd like to schedule a c-section at 37 weeks so we can be prepared and there are no surprises, but we may have to go in earlier if the ultrasounds are showing that there is too much pressure on her brain. And she will need surgery immediately after birth. Do you have any questions?"

The teenagers just stared at him blankly. They only heard parts of what the doctor had told them, mainly; "sorry", "nerves outside spine," "fluid", "crutches," and "surgery immediately after birth". They made their way out to Sam's car, and this time they just sat there. It wasn't like last time where Santana cried uncontrollably, they just felt numb. They'd pretty much been expecting the news this time, but they didn't know how to process the fact that it was now official. It had scared Sam how quiet Santana had been the last two weeks, but now that their fears had been confirmed, he didn't have much to say either. After several moments of silence, he just reached over and squeezed her hand. That's when she broke down.


	15. Chapter 15

a/n: I know I'm horrible, and I know everyone hates excuses. I've just been super busy, had awful writer's block, and every time I did sit down to write, I'd get interrupted pretty quickly and only be able to write a few sentences each time. Thanks so much for the reviews last chapter. I got some that were extremely helpful, and I really appreciate it.

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The day they got confirmation that their daughter would have Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus was one of the worst days of Sam and Santana's lives. They were scared, heartbroken, and shocked, and the news overshadowed the fact that they had found out it was going to be a girl. That was the worst day though, and things were starting to look up a little bit. They'd both been scouring the internet for information on the conditions and found many personal stories of parents that were given awful prognosis and were blessed with beautiful, special miracles that surprised them every day and exceeded all the doctors' expectations for them. Their child may have special needs, but she was going to be okay, and she was going to be loved.

They had told Brittany, who hadn't understood, and when they explained that she would have problems with her legs like Artie did and may not walk, it confused her even more. "But you weren't in a car accident, and your legs work just fine. Oh my God, is Artie the father?" she had said to her best friend. Eventually, Santana was able to explain it in terms that Brittany seemed to understand, and Sam was thoroughly impressed. Santana hadn't always been the most patient person, but she always had been with Brittany. She was also fiercely protective of her, and had always taken a bit of a maternal role with her, so he knew that she would be an excellent mother. They'd also told Quinn, who had bonded with Santana over the teen pregnancy thing, and the two were friends again. Quinn didn't say much other than "I'm so sorry," and the girls hugged and cried together. They figured that Quinn must have told the rest of the Glee Club because both Mercedes and Rachel had texted Santana telling her that she and the baby were in their prayers. That was fine, they were all going to find out eventually, and now they didn't have to be the ones to tell them. They hadn't seen anyone else though. Sam was working as much as he could at the pizza shop since it was summer, hoping to save as much money as possible. Santana spent her time helping with Stevie and Stacey and searching the internet for as much information as she could find on Spina Bifida. She preferred to stay home anyway. Ohio was experiencing one of the hottest summers ever, and being six months pregnant, being in the air-conditioned house was much more comfortable.

"Honey, can we talk?" Mary said as she poked her head through the door of the room Stacey and Santana shared. It was working for now because the house was only three bedrooms and they had no other choice, but they didn't know what they were going to do after the baby was born. It wasn't fair to make Stacey stay in the same room as a baby that would wake up several times a night, but the Evans' were definitely not keen on letting their teenage son share a room with his girlfriend, even if they knew he obviously wasn't a virgin. But it wasn't like Sam and Santana were going to get it on in the same room as a baby, even they weren't that sick.

"Sure," she said, closing the laptop and patting a place on the bed for the older woman to sit.

" I can't imagine what you and Sam are going through right now, especially you. We've really come to love you over these last few months, and we think of you as one of our own. You know we would do anything for you, but I think now you really need your family too. You need their love and support, and your baby also needs their insurance," she said, smoothing the girl's hair.

"That would be ideal, but I'm pretty sure they hate me. I ruined their reputation, remember?" Santana sighed.

"Honey, they don't hate you. It was wrong the way they treated you, but they were upset, they still love you, trust me."

"I don't know about that," Santana said rubbing her baby bump, not understanding how anyone could hate their daughter, but figuring her parents did anyways.

"I do. I know you probably won't like this, but I'm going to be honest, I've been in contact with your mother. Your parents know it's a girl, and they know she has Spina Bifida. Your mom misses you and she said she does feel bad about how they reacted. She wants to meet with you, tomorrow for lunch at Breadstix," Mary explained, practically in one single breath, figuring the hormonal teenager wouldn't take it well.

Instead of getting mad like Mary thought she would, Santana wrapped the older woman in a hug and sobbed.

"Thank you," she cried. "You did what I've been scared to do for months. I'm still hurt by how they treated me, but I know the baby needs them, and I need them. I miss them, even if I am a little nervous about seeing them. My dad's not going to be there, is he?"

"No, just your mom this time. He's away at a conference."

"That's probably for the best, my mom is slightly less scary."

"Your mom loves you, I promise. Would you like me to come with you?" Mary offered.

"No, I can go on my own, I think I need to. It'll be fine. Thank you though," she said wiping her eyes.

"You're welcome dear. I hate to cut this short, but it's late and I really need to get the kids to bed." Mary sighed, noticing the clock on the wall.

"I'll do it!" Santana said eagerly. "I need the practice, and I read that the baby can hear my voice now, and reading a children's book rather than medical literature would probably do me some good right now too."

"I think that's a good idea. Good night, sweetheart," Mary said, kissing Santana on the head and leaving the room.

Stacey and Stevie entered a few minutes later. They were excited, they loved Santana and loved when she read to them, but they also knew to be careful with her. They came running in, but as they got close to the bed they almost tiptoed, and then carefully climbed up to join her. She just laughed as she made room for them on either side of her.

The kids were asleep and the lights were out by nine o'clock. Santana laid in bed, but despite how exhausted she was, she could not sleep. She tried to stay still, as to not disturb Stacey with her tossing and turning, but it was difficult. Finally, she got the pillows positioned around her just right, and she was able to get some decent sleep.

When morning came, she was nauseous for the first time in weeks, and vomited before getting ready for lunch. It was nerves, she was sure of it, and she knew she just had to get this over with. So, she got to Breadstix twenty minutes early, and ordered breadsticks and a cherry slushy, hoping to settle her stomach, remembering that cherry slushies were the the only thing that helped during her "morning sickness" phase. She still didn't think "morning sickness" was accurate, since she had been nauseous all day at first, and so had Quinn when she was in her first trimester, but whatever. Her mom was early too, arriving just a few minutes after Santana got her slushy. For a second, she felt like she might vomit again, but her mother wrapped her in a hug, and they both sobbed.

"I am so sorry Mija. Your father and I are both so sorry." Cece cried.

Santana could have said something. The old Santana probably would have told her off majorly, but this Santana was just glad to be around her mom again.

"You look beautiful. You're glowing and your bump is adorable. Of course, I wish you would have waited about ten more years to have a baby bump, but you still look beautiful." Cece said, Santana just ignored the last part. She wished that too, but it was happening, and there wasn't really anything she was willing to do about it now.

They didn't say much after that, finally it became awkward and they both just looked at their menus, even though they both knew it by heart. Santana had gotten her love of Breadstix from her mother, and the Lopez family dined there regularly. They both got their fettucine with pesto , and after a few minutes, Mrs. Lopez spoke up.

"How have you been?" She asked.

"As good as can be expected, I guess," Santana replied. How the fuck did her mother think she had been? She was seventeen, pregnant, kicked out of her house by her parents, and her baby was going to have serious health problems.

"Mrs. Evans told me everything. She seems like such a nice lady."

"She is nice, I'm so glad _she's _been there for me," Santana said, putting emphasis on the word "she" as an obvious dig at her own mother. It didn't go unnoticed.

"Look, Mija, we are very sorry about everything. We're still disappointed, but you're our daughter and we love you. And you both need us right now. So, we want to be there for you, and the baby. Your father has set up some appointments with specialists, and you know we have excellent insurance, but you need to move back home."

"Oh," Santana said, she wasn't expecting that. "Can I get back to you on that? Sam's family has been wonderful to me, and our living situation is working out for now. I'd like to discuss it with them."

"Of course honey," Cece said, obviously hurt by the comments about how wonderful Sam's family was, and the fact that Santana didn't immediately get excited about the prospect of moving back home. But honestly, Cece couldn't really blame her. "Why don't we meet up in a few days, you could use some good maternity clothes."

Santana looked down at her belly and blushed. Today she was wearing one of her regular tops that was long enough to cover everything but was extremely tight, and the button on her jeans was being held together by a hair tie. She used what she could, because she only had a few maternity outfits from Quinn that were appropriate for hot weather since Quinn had given birth in the spring.

"Sounds good," she said. When they were finished, they hugged once more, both fought back the tears, and Cece gently rubbed Santana's bump before they parted ways.

a/n: I'd love to hear baby name suggestions!


	16. Chapter 16

"This is awful. Who wears this shit?" Santana said, a little too loudly, as she held up an ugly pink and blue tent-like garment. It was a few days after her Breadstix lunch, and she and her mother were shopping at Lima's only maternity store. "Seriously, this is like what Rachel Berry and Miss Pillsbury would wear. If they were walruses."

"That's enough, Mija," Cece hissed. "Maybe if you had waited a few years, the clothing options would have improved, but they don't exactly have seventeen year old cheerleaders in mind when they design these things."

"Clearly. I think this crap would manage to make me look like a grandmother and a toddler at the same time. Let's get this over with," Santana said as she grabbed a few of the least dorky items she could find.

"Do you need any help, dear?" Cece asked when her daughter hadn't emerged from the dressing room several minutes later. The only response she got was what sounded like a stifled sob.

"I'm coming in, unlock the door." Santana did, and her mother opened the door a few seconds later to find her huddled in the corner crying.

"Honey, it's not that bad. I actually think you look beautiful," she said, trying to comfort her daughter.

"No, I don't. I look like a big fat loser," Santana sobbed.

"You don't look fat at all, it's the baby, and you're still pretty tiny." Cece was about to tell her that this was nothing and she should just wait to see how big she would be at the end, but she decided it wasn't a good idea. Santana had always been vain, and now she was hormonal and weighed more than she ever had. Which still wasn't much, Cece was right when she said Santana was still pretty small and the only areas that were bigger were her boobs and belly.

"Oh God, there's actually a baby in there. A human being that is going to get bigger, and then come out, and then I'll have to take care of it," she cried as if she had just realized all of this for the first time. It certainly wasn't the first time she has realized it, but it seemed to hit her hard at different times. This was one of those times, just like whenever she felt the baby move or saw her on a sonogram.

"Yes honey, I thought we'd established that," Cece said, pulling her into a hug and smoothing her hair. "Look, I'm not going to tell you this is going to be easy. None of this is going to be easy, and your life will never be the same, but it will be alright. Your father and I are going to be there for you, and so is Sam's family, and we have the best doctors around. And speaking of doctors, we need to move this along. We have an appointment with the pediatric neurosurgeon in an hour."

Santana composed herself, and settled on almost five hundred dollars worth of the best clothing options she could find, and they headed to the doctor's office. Her father met them there, and Santana was nervous about that, and not particularly looking forward to seeing him, but Sam and his mom were there too, so that made it easier. She figured he wasn't going to yell at her or give her the silent treatment with them around, for a second time. But she was glad to get it over with. She had been even more nervous about seeing her dad again than she had been about seeing her mom. Her dad was the one that had been so horrible to her, her mom was just the one who didn't stop it.

Their reunion had been fine. When Santana and Cece arrived, her father, Mark was sitting in the waiting room talking to Sam and Mary, and she noticed, they were smiling and appeared to be having a decent time. Upon hearing the door open, Mark stopped his conversation and rushed over to hug his daughter.

"I'm so sorry," he said quietly, and Santana could tell that he was definitely choked up. Santana started to cry again too, but it wasn't long before the nurse called them back.

"It's good to see you," Mark said, when he took her hand and the group followed the nurse. "You look good."

The Neurosurgeon, Dr. McClain, was warm and patient, and tried to explain things in terms that everyone understood, but it was still a lot to take in.

"Dr. Wu and I have been going over your scans and tests, and he's going to have to perform ultrasounds regularly to monitor the baby's cerebral fluid, and we may have to deliver a little bit early, but I want to tentatively schedule you for a c-section at 37 weeks," he explained.

"Do I have to have a c-section?" Santana asked. Cece was about to tell her that this was not the time to be vain, and that the scar wouldn't be that bad, when Santana continued. "It's just that I've been doing some reading, and I know that a c-section has a longer recovery time, and it'll just be more time that I have to spend away from the baby."

"C-sections appear better for a baby with Spina Bifida in theory, but actually there is not a whole lot of evidence that a vaginal birth causes more nerve damage. It may be an option, but we'll have to see as you get closer. You will most likely be induced though, if you are able to deliver vaginally. Like I said, we're going to monitor the fluids, and if there is too much pressure on your baby's brain, we'll have to deliver early. Also, a planned birth assures that all the right specialists will be there. I also want to refer you to an Orthopedic Surgeon and a Urologist. People with Spina Bifida often have bone and bladder problems, they're not always required at birth, but you'll need them for the future, and I want you to tour the NICU."

"What about intra-uterine surgery?" Mary asked. "We've been reading about that, it seems promising."

"It is promising," Dr. McClain sighed. "Unfortunately that is no longer an option. Intrauterine surgery does seem to lessen the complications associated with Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus, unfortunately Ms. Lopez is too far along for it at this point. It needs to be performed before twenty-six weeks so the fetus heals before birth. I'm so sorry," He said, before looking around the room and noticing that Santana, Sam, and their mothers had started to cry.

"Intrauterine surgery isn't a cure though," he continued. "The baby would have still had many of the problems associated, they just appear to be less severe. But, we will perform the surgery on the baby's spine shortly after birth, and monitor the Hydrocephalus. We may need to place a shunt in her brain within a few days to drain the fluid on her brain to her abdomen. Fortunately, treatment options have improved over the years, and her prognosis should be pretty good. We won't know specifics until she gets older, but many people with Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus are able to live pretty normal lives."

"Will we get to hold her? I mean, before the surgery?" Sam asked, squeezing Santana's hand.

"Most likely. If all goes well, you should be able to hold her before surgery. Unfortunately, after the surgery, she'll have to lie on her stomach for about a week to heal, and you won't be able to hold her during that time. She'll also have to be on a feeding tube at first since she'll be lying on her stomach, and she'll have to stay in the NICU for at least two weeks, maybe longer."

"Will she be in any pain?" Santana asked.

"She will be while she's recovering from the surgery. She'll be on morphine to control it, but after that, she shouldn't be. Spina Bifida itself isn't painful, but if she develops urinary tract infections, those can be. You'll also need to monitor her for signs of headaches. Of course, not all headaches are serious, but severe ones could be due to worsening Hydrocephalus or shunt malfunctions. And as she gets older, she may develop Scoliosis or Lordosis which can be painful. Any other questions?" He asked, looking around the room again, and they all just shook their heads.

"Okay, well then I guess we're done for the day. We'll meet up again to go over birth plans, but for now you'll mostly stick with regular appointments with Dr. Wu. He does handle high risk cases, so he'll be able to monitor everything until the birth. Please feel free to call my office whenever you have any questions, and your father also has my cell phone number, so feel free to use that too if you need anything."

"Would you like to join us for dinner at Breadstix?" Mark asked, once they were out in the parking lot. "Have Bill and the kids meet us there too."

"Sam and I can join ya'll, Bill won't be home from work until after seven. The kids are with Sam and Santana's friend Rachel," Mary explained, and Santana had to control the urge to roll her eyes. She and Rachel were most definitely _not _friends, although she supposed she was probably a good choice for a baby sitter. She was the approximate size of a ten year old, so she wouldn't be intimidating, and she did have lots of energy. And even Santana had to admit that Rachel had been kind to them about the baby's situation. Still, as far as Santana was concerned, this whole pregnancy was partially the midget's fault, so she wasn't quite ready to say that they were friends.

"Have you thought more about moving back home?" Mark asked his daughter in the middle of dinner.

"We've all discussed it, and we're in agreement that it would be a good idea," Santana said nervously. Three months ago, she never thought she'd move back in with her parents, she wasn't even sure she'd ever talk to them again, but it did make the most sense, and their reunion had gone a lot better than she had expected. She knew her parents were still disappointed in her, and she knew that they probably always would be to a certain extent. She was disappointed in herself, she honestly never thought she'd be a mom at all, especially a teenage one. But they'd calmed down since they found out about the pregnancy, and as much as they weren't thrilled with the idea, they had accepted it, and knew their daughter would need their help and support.

"I'm so glad to hear that!" Cece said, unable to hide her excitement. "We just think it would be best for you and the baby to be close to your dad so he can keep an eye on you. And the baby can have her own room. Of course Sam is welcome anytime, since he's family now too, but I hope you understand you two won't be sharing a room in our house. "

Santana and Sam figured as much, most parents wouldn't let their teenager share a room with her boyfriend, even if they had already made a baby. Sam's parents, being responsible, were the same way. Fortunately Santana's parents had lots of extra bedrooms, so they would each be able to have one. Santana also knew she wanted to the baby to sleep in her room at least until she was sleeping through the night, and didn't know what the meant for Sam or if he'd be able to help during the night, but they'd cross that bridge when they got to it.

When dinner was over, they all hugged, and Sam and Santana went home with their respective parents. It was weird not sleeping under the same roof after they had for so many months, and they stayed on the phone with each-other until Santana finally fell asleep around 2 am, but they knew it was for the best.


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: So, some of you may have noticed I posted this last night and then deleted it. I typed it up really fast and then posted it late at night because I wanted to get it up. Then I decided to remove it because I wanted to add and change some things. If any of you noticed, sorry about that! Glee is coming back in less than a week, I am SO excited! To be honest, I'm not sure what I'm going to do about Sam, since Chord isn't coming back. I'm not sure if I'll have him change schools, or stay at McKinley and quit the Glee club, or write as if he's still there and still in Glee. But, he will still definitely be in this story even though he won't be on the show anymore. Thanks again for the reviews and alerts, they make my day!**

"San, are you ready yet?" Sam asked. He'd been standing outside of Santana's bedroom door for fifteen minutes, and they were already late as it was.

"I'm not going," she grumbled.

"Come on, we've barely seen any of them all summer. You've only really left the house for doctor's appointments, and I know you're hot and uncomfortable, and I just think the water would help."

When she mumbled something that he couldn't quite make out, he knocked again.

"I'm coming in!" He announced, but she opened the door before he got a chance to, and then quickly wrapped her arms around her stomach, as if trying to cover it up.

"Wow, you've gotten really big since you moved out!" He said with a smile, he meant it in a good way, but she didn't take it that way.

"That's it, I'm definitely not going now, I look disgusting." She said, with a horrified look on her face.

"Babe, I didn't mean it like that, I just mean that our baby is growing, and that's a good thing. You look beautiful," he said, reaching out to stroke her belly. "And your boobs are really hot," he added, moving his hand up, but it got swatted away.

"Sorry," he mumbled, "but they do look really good."

"They're just sore," she explained, "and my mom has been watching me like a hawk. You won't exactly win any points if she comes around the corner and sees you feeling me up. Do I really look okay?"

"No," he said honestly. "You look amazing."

"Ugh, whatever, I'm just glad I don't have stretch marks yet," she said, grabbing a light sundress and pulling it over her bikini. "Help me, will you," she hissed as the dress got stuck on her bump.

He kissed her belly, pulled the dress down, and then they were off.

"Hello, Samuel, Santana," Judy Fabray said, rather coldly, when she showed them in the house. They were not exactly her favorite people. Just like the Lopezes had thought Quinn was a bad influence on their daughter ever since she had gotten pregnant Sophomore year, the Fabrays also thought Santana was a bad influence ever since they heard rumors about her reputation starting when the girls were freshmen. The girls had been close friends for years and had been over at each-other's houses countless times, and suddenly they had become "that Lopez girl" and "that Fabray girl". And Sam wasn't her favorite person, since he'd dumped her daughter. She didn't know the circumstances of course, just that he had dumped her, but most girls wouldn't freely admit to their parents that they cheated. But the adults had begun to come around in the last couple of weeks.

"Quinnie told me about your baby's problems, I'm sorry to hear that," she added awkwardly.

"Thanks," Sam said, pulling wrapping his arm around Santana and pulling her into his side for reassurance, "but everything is going to be okay."

"Glad to hear it. Well, everyone else is in the back, we've got snacks out there too, so help yourselves. Just make sure you wait for twenty minutes to swim after eating!"

They waved politely, and headed to the backyard. Santana got a little nervous about seeing everyone, and as soon as they opened the sliding door, everyone turned to look at them. She wanted to turn around and leave, but before she knew it, all the Glee girls and Kurt ran up to her, Brittany leading the way, and engulfed her in a hug. Even Rachel and Lauren joined in.

"Guys, let's not squish the baby," Quinn said, and everyone backed off and apologized profusely.

"It's okay," Santana assured them, "It's so good to see you all."

Brittany rushed back in for another gentle hug, she had barely seen her best friend all summer.

"I missed you, buddy," the blonde almost cried. "You too, baby," she said, sweetly patting Santana's bump, and getting a kick in return.

"Did I hurt her?" She asked, an adorably panicked expression on her face. "I didn't mean to, I was just saying hi."

"No, you didn't hurt her, she was just kicking, she's excited to be around her Aunt Brittany." Santana explained.

"Oh, well I'm excited to be around her too, but I thought her legs didn't work?"

"Well, we don't know exactly how well her legs work, but they probably do work a little, or that could have been an arm." Santana explained optimistically.

"Are you hungry?" Brittany asked, taking Santana's hand. "I brought bread sticks!"

"Of course!" She said, rolling her eyes, as if it was obvious to everyone that she was constantly hungry.

"So, how are you feeling?" Kurt asked as Santana and Brittany filled their plates and joined the rest of the group on the steps.

"I feel great!" Brittany said, "I can't wait for school to start, I got a new 64-pack of crayons, and leg warmers in every color, Lip Smackers came out with three new flavors, and I'm really hopeful that I'll pass Algebra 1 this year. Lord Tubbington is going through major separation-anxiety though, he started chain smoking, so I bought a wheel of his favorite brie to make up for me being gone all day again, but he'll be okay I think."

"That's great Britt, but I was actually asking Santana."

"I've been feeling pretty good lately, just nervous, but everything is going to be okay. And it's so nice to get out of the house. Don't tell anyone, because I'll deny it, but I actually kind of missed you guys," she smiled.

"We missed you too, girl," Mercedes said. "Have you thought of any names yet?"

"Not really," Santana said, looking over at Sam. "But my mom bought me a name book, I guess we need to start thinking about that."

"I have some suggestions," Rachel chimed in.

"Thanks Rach, but we're not going to name our baby Barbra or Elphaba," Sam laughed.

"I know that, those are what I'm going to name my daughters, so I really appreciate you not stealing them just because I won't be ready for intercourse and babies for at least seven more years. But Celine, and Maria, and Evita are nice names too, don't you think?"

"We'll keep those for consideration," Sam said and he looked over at his girlfriend who was rolling her eyes.

"My favorite name is Santana," Brittany added.

"That's sweet Britt-Britt, but I don't think I want to name my baby after myself."

"Why not? You're awesome, the world needs two of you," the blonde shrugged, and Santana glared at Puck and Lauren before they could argue with that.

"What about Elizabeth?" Kurt asked.

"George Foreman?" Finn asked, and when everyone looked at him like he was an idiot, he continued. "What? I think you should name your baby after something that you love, and something I love almost as much as apples and drizzle is my George Foreman grill. I mean, doesn't everyone love theirs?"

"Finn, honey, they're having a girl," Rachel explained.

"Oh, right, how about Georgina Foreman?"

"Josephina Cuervo?" Puck suggested. "I mean, Jose is the reason you're having a baby, and Josephina makes it appropriate for a girl, and you are a Latina. It's perfect."

"Puckerman, you're on a roll!" Lauren said, and then leaned in to kiss him or eat his face, Santana couldn't tell which one, but either way, it was really grossing out her baby.

"I'm hot," Santana said, not wanting to hear any more of their lame suggestions, worried that she might snap and suggest that she name the baby Rachel, because it was her fault too.

"Yeah you are!" Puck said, as watched Santana remove her sundress and show off her bikini and her ever-expanding chest, receiving a smack from Lauren and a death glare from Sam.

"Come on guys, " Santana said, no longer caring how she looked in a bikini, she was really hot, and just needed to get in the water. "Let's go swimming."

The pool party lasted for a few more hours, and everyone truly enjoyed themselves, except for Quinn, Santana noticed. She was dressed differently, barely said a word, kept sneaking off to the side yard, refused to change into her bathing suit, even though it was a million degrees, and her hair was pink. It was very strange, and very unlike her, and Santana made a mental note to talk to her privately soon and find out what was going on. But there was no time at the pool party, and eventually Quinn very abruptly told everyone it was time for them to leave.

"Come in," Santana said, when Sam dropped her off at her house. "My parents are having dinner in Columbus, they won't be home for hours."

It didn't take much convincing, and Sam followed her up to her bedroom.

"Lay down with me," she said, patting the sheets next to her. "Today was really fun, I'm glad you convinced me to go," she smiled.

"I'm glad you went too, and trust me, you're still the hottest chick in Glee club," he said, kissing her neck.

"Just in the Glee club?" She said, arching a perfect eyebrow at him.

"Well, you're the hottest chick in school, and although I haven't seen all the girls in Ohio, you probably rank up there too," he added before she could cry.

"Whatever, I'm just glad we got to have fun, since we won't get to for a while."

"Having a baby isn't going to be that bad," Sam said.

"I wasn't talking about that, I was talking about going back to school next week. But yeah, once we have a baby, we're going to be doing even less of that stuff," she said bleakly.

"Don't listen to mommy, Neytiri, we're very excited to meet you, and we know you'll still let us have fun," he said to the bump.

"We're not naming our baby after a character from Avatar."

"How do you know it's from Avatar? You refuse to watch the movie." Sam asked, Santana must have been smarter than he thought.

"Lucky guess," she laughed.

"Leia?" He suggested.

"We're not naming her after any characters from Sci-Fi movies. Or tv shows," she added before Sam could come up with any more lame suggestions.

"What about Katie?" He asked.

"You mean after Katie Simon, that slut who was always checking you out in Spanish class?"

"Who? " He asked, scratching his head.

"You know exactly who!" Santana shrieked. "You like her more than me, she's blonde, and awesome, and so smart!"

"Honey, I honestly don't even know who that is. And you know you're my favorite girl, although you're going to have some stiff competition in a few months."

"From who?" She asked, still slightly hurt, and not understanding where he was going with this.

"From Katie Evans/Lopez/last-name-to-be-determined."

"Why Katie?" She asked.

"Well, I always liked that name, and it means 'pure'". He explained.

"Awww, I actually kind of like that. We'll put that on the list," she said, rubbing her belly and repeating the name sweetly, seeing how it felt.

"Also, that was my baby-sitter's name when I was a kid, and she was a total babe," he added, receiving a smack from his girlfriend.

"Just hand me the name book, Trouty Mouth."

She was joking, and he knew she didn't mean anything by it, but he figured he probably deserved it anyways. So, he grabbed the book off the night-stand and handed it over to her. She studied it for a few minutes before finally speaking up.

"Lily also means pure. Lilies symbolize purity and beauty ," she suggested. "Or Liliana since she's going to be half Puerto-Rican. Ella means 'torch or bright light'. Valerie, Valeria, or Valentina, all mean 'to be healthy, strong.' Gabriella means 'God is my strength'. Victoria, Faith, and Hope are nice too, and I don't think I need to explain what those names mean."

"Those are all nice," Sam said, genuinely.

"Ugh, don't be so casual about this! It's our child's name, it's important!"

"I'm not being casual, I really think those are all nice names," he explained.

"Can you pick a couple of them? Do you have stronger opinions about any of them?" She asked.

"Well, Ella is nice, and Liliana, and Valerie, or Gabriella. We could call her Gabby, and I like Faith and Hope too."

"So, you pretty much like all of them equally?" She asked.

"Yeah, Valentina, and Victoria are nice too," he added.

"Ugh, you are so not helpful!" She huffed.

"Honey, we've got two months to decide. But we can add all those to the list. I'm sure we'll decide on one of them by the time she's born, or sooner. Or we might come up with something better."

"Fine," she said, grabbing a pen and paper and scribbling the names down.

"Sammy," she said a few minutes later. "Gabriella and I are hungry."

"How could you possibly be hungry, you ate two plates of food at the pool party?"

"Never mind," he added when she glared at him. "Let's go see what's in the kitchen."

"God, I'm such a cliché," she said when Sam made her a peanut butter and pickle sandwich, the only thing that sounded good to her.

"I'm not exactly sure what the word means, but if it means 'disgusting', then yes you kind of are," Sam laughed.

"There's just that stereotype about pregnant women liking pickles with everything," she explained. "But it's really good, you should try it!"

Sam was reluctant, but Santana was persistent, so he took a bite. "This is actually really good," he admitted.

"I told you! It's all about the sweet pickles. I tried it with dill pickles one time, and it was awful," she laughed.

"So, you called the baby Gabriella, upstairs," Sam said, while arranging the pickles on a slice of peanut buttered bread for himself. "Does that mean that that's what you want to name her?"

"I don't know, I was just trying it out," she shrugged.

"How did it sound?" He asked.

"I actually like it, and we could still call her Ella, but I know I'll probably change my mind every day. Yesterday I liked Isabella."

"Ooh, Isabella, let's add that to the list," he said, actually sounding more excited about that one that he did about the others.

"I don't know, I think it's too popular, but we'll see," she sighed. She had no idea picking out a name could be so hard, and she knew that with all the decisions they were going to have to make over the next few months and years, that this was actually pretty minor.


	18. Chapter 18

**a/n: Hello all you beautiful people! Sorry this took so long. This chapter spans several weeks, and the baby will be here soon, so the story will be more a/u from here on out. Thanks for Starsareametophor for beta-ing this. Go check out her stories, I beta'd "Dyslexic Heart" for her, and it's awesome! Please review! xoxo**

Senior year had not started out the way Santana had ever imagined it would. She was sure she would have been captain of the Cheerios, ruling the school, getting lots of good mileage out of her boob job, and modeling her fierceness after her numero uno Latina- Paula Abdul. Instead, she felt disgustingly huge, her back hurt, she waddled when she walked, she had cankles, her belly button was now an outie, as thankful as she was to feel the baby moving inside her, the jabs and kicks had become quite painful, and to top it off she was a Glee loser. It didn't help that everyone stared at her, and not for the reasons they used to. The worst of it all, because of the flesh-eating staph infection that was making its rounds with the football team, Sam wasn't there. They Skyped so he could sing to the baby, and they often fell asleep talking to each other on the phone. They also texted constantly and he insisted she send him a new picture of her bump every day. She felt stupid doing it, but it was important to him, and he assured her that she was beautiful and glowing. She wasn't so sure though. For the first time in her life she wished she was invisible, but with her ever expanding mid-section, she very obviously wasn't.

Glee club was still the highlight of her day; it was pretty much the only highlight of her day anymore. As much as most of those people annoyed her at times, they were the only people in the entire school that had her back, and since they already got to see how big she had gotten at the pool party, none of them really stared at her. Except for Brittany; and Puck too because her "jugs were fucking massive!" Still, she wished Sam was there, or at least Quinn. They were the only two people that had any idea what she was going through and no one had seen Quinn. School had already been in session for four days and the pink haired girl hadn't graced her two former best friends with her presence yet. After the food fight that smelled so awful Santana had serious difficulties not vomiting, she and Brittany chose to eat lunch on the bleachers, which turned out to be Quinn's new favorite hang-out.

"Well, well, if it isn't my two favorite sheep," the pink haired girl snickered.

"Quinn, look, this is our senior year and frankly, being in the Glee club is not the same without you," Santana confessed.

"You guys are such suckers for going back to Mr. Schue after his blatant favoritism of the hobbit," Quinn scoffed.

"Come on! Screw him, this is for us!" Santana spat. "We could win Nationals this year. We joined the Cheerios together, we joined the Glee club together and we all slept with Puckerman the same year. We're like besties for life."

"Yeah, come on Quinn," Brittany added. "We used to be the Three Musketeers, and now Santana and I are like Almond Joy, and you're like a Jolly Rancher that fell in the ashtray."

"You guys never understood the pressure I was under," Quinn growled. "It sucked. I'm not interested in the ridicule, or the slushies, or the cheesy show tunes."

"Look, I've got a bar of soap and a bottle of peroxide in my locker with your name on it. Come on Quinn, you can't break up the Unholy Trinity, and honestly, I need you. You're the only person who has any idea what I'm going through," Santana pleaded.

"People grow apart," Quinn said coldly. "Deal with it. I have new friends now, and they accept me for who I am. Enjoy your enormous bowl of disgusting creamy pasta." She rolled her eyes as she lit a cigarette, intentionally blew the smoke in Santana's face, and then walked away.

"Well, that was uncalled for," Brittany said, trying to wave the smoke away. "Is the baby okay?"

"She's fine, Britt-Britt," Santana assured her, smiling at her friend's sweetness. "Here, have some of my alfredo. I can't eat as much as I used too, the baby takes up too much space," she said, taking a forkful and handing it to Brittany. While she was thrilled to find out that Breadstix delivered, her eyes were definitely bigger than her stomach these days.

That afternoon Santana was feeling sorry for herself, and in a hormonal rage, she quit the Glee club. It didn't last long though because her days after school sucked. The only contact she could have with Sam was over the phone or online, Brittany was still in the club, and Quinn was still being weird.

Most nights she actually spent her evenings doing homework, researching what to expect after her baby's surgery, and helping her mom put the finishing touches on the nursery. It was pretty and pink, and girly, and a stark contrast to the black walls in her room, especially since the door connecting the two rooms had been knocked down. She ran her hand along the frame of the mahogany sleigh crib and reached in to pick up the stuffed unicorn that Brittany had given them. She clutched it to her chest, sat down in the matching glider, and looked around the room. She glanced at the changing table, the flowing curtains and the blossoming cherry tree that a local artist had painted on the wall and burst into tears. It was beautiful, and it terrified her. Her baby girl would be here in a matter of weeks, and she didn't think she'd ever be ready. It wasn't like she'd forget that she was pregnant if she didn't have to look at it, but for now, she needed a distraction from the seriousness of her near future. So, barely a week after she quit, she ran back to the Glee club. She needed them, and smiled to herself when she heard that Quinn had re-joined too.

"You're late!" Mr. Schuester scolded when Mercedes arrived to Booty Camp less than a minute after Santana did.

"I know, I overslept," she said apologetically.

"It's 4:30 in the afternoon", a now blonde Quinn said, rolling her eyes.

"My alarm clock went off thirty minutes late this morning. Kind of shifted my whole schedule, anyway Santana just got here too, I saw her waddle in."

"She was feeling light-headed and had to eat before she came," explained Mr. Schue.

"Why are you babying her?" Mercedes whined.

Mr. Schuester rubbed his temples, "She's pregnant, it's a little different. Anyway, are you ready?"

After no more than thirty seconds of dancing, Mercedes noticed that Santana was sitting off to the side clutching her belly, and in a moment of annoyance and jealousy, ran to the trash can holding her stomach.

"My stomach hurts, I think I'm going to be sick too." she whimpered.

"Sectionals are coming up, and we've got to give it our all," Mr. Schuester said sternly.

"I'm doing my best!"

"No, it's not about doing your best anymore, it's about doing better!"

"I don't feel good," she argued.

"You're fine."

"No, I'm not!"

"Mercedes, I want you to be the best you can be. Did you even practice this?"

"Stop picking on me!" She yelled. "You're always singling me out, making me look bad."

"That's crazy," Mr. Schuester said, shaking his head.

"No, you're crazy, for not letting me shine! Why isn't Santana dancing? She's over there sitting on her ass!"

"She's about to push a human out of her…" Brittany started, defending her best friend and forming her hands into a circle, obviously getting ready to perform some type of interesting, completely unnecessary, and no doubt highly inaccurate demonstration on childbirth.

"No one asked you, Brittany! Everyone knows Santana is your favorite now," she added, turning to Mr. Schue.

"That's not true," Mr. Schuester tried to explain.

"No, it's true! You give that knocked up slut everything, just because she can't keep her legs together, and everyone is still terrified of her wrath. Before that it was Rachel, and for two years I took it. But not anymore, I'm done!" She hissed, pushing past them and purposely knocking over the stand with the sheet music. "You know, I've outgrown you. I've outgrown all of you!"

"Mercedes! You walk out that door, you're out of Glee club," Mr. Schue warned, but Mercedes ignored him and kept walking.

The next few weeks Glee was pleasant, surprisingly drama-free, and Santana had to admit that she liked all the solos she was getting with Mercedes gone. She had even gotten a few duets with Rachel, and as much as the shorter girl annoyed her, she had to admit their voices sounded amazing together. Maybe even better than she and Mercedes sounded together. One Friday, though, things seemed to change and everyone was acting really weird. She couldn't find any of the Glee kids during lunch, and they weren't replying to her texts, not even Brittany. So, she sat with the Cheerios and they asked her obnoxious questions like how long would she wait after popping the kid out before she'd start back on the Sue Sylvester Master Cleanse, if she'd ever deafened anyone with the sound of her stretch marks rubbing together, and if she was worried that the silicone would get into her breast milk and poison the baby or turn it into a mutant or something. When she asked who put them up to those questions and Becky told her that Coach Sylvester said she wasn't at liberty to say, Santana wasn't surprised at all. She sat with them for the duration of lunch only because she was too insecure to be seen sitting by herself. Last year, she'd been the undisputed top bitch at that school, and even though she was miserable, she couldn't leave.

She got through her next two classes, but they were awkward and boring, and she really had to pee. Tina, Quinn, Mike, and Artie were in them, and they ignored her. It was the strangest thing, but they had Glee after school, and she knew they'd have to talk to her there. She should have put two and two together, but she didn't, so when she walked into the choir room and saw it decorated with pink streamers, paper storks, a cake, and giant pile of presents, she burst into tears.

"Saaan, don't cry," Brittany pleaded, rushing over and wrapping the pregnant girl in a hug. "I felt bad for hanging the storks from the ceiling too, but Tina assured me that they're fake and didn't feel it."

"That's not why I'm crying," she explained, wiping her eyes and laughing a little bit. "I can't believe you guys did this for us. I thought you were avoiding me because I'm such a bitch."

"Well, you are," Puck started, and then received a glare from Mr. Schuester. "I mean you are awesome, and it's for the kid too."

"So this is why you weren't replying to my texts," she said to her best friend.

"Well, Quinn took my phone away," Brittany explained. "She said it had a virus, and if I texted you back, you'd get it and get sick and the baby would like, never grow hair."

"Do you want some cake?" Quinn asked, changing the subject and handing Brittany's phone back after being reminded that she still had it. "I remember I was always hungry when I was pregnant."

Santana nodded enthusiastically and Tina and Rachel led her to a seat in the circle of chairs while Quinn started serving the cake. Then it was time for games. They were cheesy, and awkward, and slightly embarrassing, and she just knew that Berry had come up with them. She forced a smile while everyone guessed how much toilet paper it would take to go around her waist, and played "guess the baby food", which was disgusting and she immediately felt bad that her baby would have to eat it. She hated it, but she had to be nice because because they were giving her presents, and when that was done, it was finally time to open them.

"Open this one first," Puck said, dropping a heavy rectangular box on her lap. "I wrapped it myself."

"I can see that," she laughed, taking note of the pictures pin-up girls on the paper, and ripping it to shreds. She totally didn't need to be reminded that she didn't have a hot body anymore. "Tequila, Puckerman? Really?" Santana scoffed as she opened the box.

"It's for after you pop the kid out, obviously," he explained. "I know it's your favorite, and you're gonna need it to deal with all the crying and diapers, and Sam's clueless-ness."

"I'll take that," Mr. Schuester said, intercepting the bottle and glaring at the mohawked boy who, if he remembered correctly, was still on probation. Not to mention under age.

"I'm sure you will, Count Boozy Von-Drunk-A-Ton," Santana snickered, recalling his humiliating drunk dial during that crazy week almost nine months ago.

"Okay, let's move on, shall we?" Rachel said cheerily, wanting to avoid any awkward moments. "Why don't you open mine next?" She handed over a medium sized square box covered in glitter and sequins and an obscene amount of ribbons and bows.

"Um, thanks Rachel," Santana said, blushing when she saw what she had gotten.

"Little baby megaphones for your future Cheerio, how cute!" Brittany shrieked, snatching the box from Santana's hands and showing it to everyone else.

"Uh, Britt, that's a breast pump," Santana whispered.

"Why does the baby need that? Just because you had to inflate your boobs, doesn't mean the baby will have to. Hers might be big enough on their own."

"No, Britt, that's not what it's for. I'll explain later," Santana said. She was sufficiently mortified now. Everyone was laughing, Puck and Artie were practically hyperventilating, Finn was looking around at everyone's reactions with a dopey look on his face, and Mr. Schue's face had gone bright red.

"The lady in the store highly recommended it," Rachel said. "It's supposed to be the most effective one in its price range, and very comfortable on your nipples. It even came with a three month supply of cream that's supposed to prevent chaf-"

"Thanks Rachel!" Santana said quickly in an effort to shut her up. She did appreciate it, she knew they were pretty expensive, especially for someone in high school to buy, and it would come in handy. She had decided over the summer that she was going try breastfeeding after Sam's mom had shown her an article on all the benefits, and when they got the baby's diagnosis, she was determined to make it work. The idea of it still made her a little uncomfortable, and she wasn't sure if her implants would harm the baby, or if the surgery would diminish her chances of success, but Dr. Wu assured her that she would likely be able to do it, and it would still be the best thing for both of them. And with the baby having to stay in the hospital for several weeks and Santana's eventual return to school, she knew she'd have to pump. Still, opening something like that in front of your male friends and teacher was horrifying.

"Mine next," Finn said handing over a weirdly shaped package awkwardly wrapped in newspaper.

"By the way, I had nothing to do with Rachel's present," he grinned, a slight blush appearing over his cheeks.

"Wow, miniature drums, thanks Finn. Thanks a lot!" she laughed, and pretended to be annoyed. "That's a toy that can stay at Uncle Finn's house!"

"I had nothing to do with Finn's present either," Rachel clarified. "Why don't you open this one next? I think Mercedes' mom delivered it."

On the brightly wrapped package was a card from Mrs. Jones. Santana smiled as she opened it to discover what was inside; it was an assortment of onesies and bibs that said things like "diva", "princess", "daddy's girl", and "If you think I'm cute, you should see my mom". It was very sweet that her mother thought to do that for the girl, but it just made everyone sad that Mercedes wasn't there. She may have been a diva, and she may have had an attitude problem, but they were a family.

Next was a CD of swing music for babies along with some saddle shoes from Tina and Mike, several coordinated outfits from Blaine and Kurt, a designer diaper bag from Quinn, a variety of diapers in different sizes from Mr. Schuester and Miss Pillsbury, duck themed bath supplies from Brittany, and a play mat from Artie.

"I did some research and they say that those blanket things help babies increase their upper body strength," Artie said proudly. "And it also helps their fine and gross motor skills. She'll be sitting up and then crawling in no time!"

Santana chewed her lip as she held the brightly colored fabric close to her chest. "I sure hope so," she murmured. "That's the goal, I guess."

Rachel saw how uncomfortable the other girl was becoming and quickly interrupted the conversation, "Santana? Here's the very last gift!" she enthused. "Mrs. Evans dropped this rather large box off earlier. She said that Sam sends his love and wishes he could be here."

Santana rubbed her lower back as she walked toward the brightly wrapped package that was hiding behind the piano. Her eyes got wide as she tried to guess what the box contained.

"Wow! I can't even imagine what she'd get!" Santana replied with a hitch in her voice. "She's done so much for us already, I mean, letting me live with them when I needed a place to stay."

She tentatively took the pastel ribbon off the top of the box then delicately removed the paper before she opened it, revealing a beautiful pink quilt with a cherry tree design stitched into it. It matched the nursery perfectly, so her mother must have sent pictures, and she wondered how Mary found the time to do this. As much as she didn't want to, she burst into tears again. She and Sam had fucked up big time, forever changing the lives of both of their families, and they had shown her nothing but generosity and love. She knew she definitely didn't deserve it, but her baby did. The baby was completely innocent in all of this, and Santana was thankful that everyone seemed to understand that. Even her own parents had seemed to be over their disappointment as they had bought her all the big ticket items their grandchild would need, and they all loved the baby already. She was going to have amazing grandparents.

"So, I know this is like totally lame, but whatever," Santana said, looking down at her bump and drawing invisible patterns with her fingers as the other girls finished cleaning up from the shower. "Do you guys want to come over and have a girls' night? We can organize the nursery, paint our nails, and my mom can order pizza. I mean, you guys probably have other plans, and I'm sort of a bitch sometimes, but this is probably like the last time I'll be able to do this, and.." she continued, nervously playing with the zipper on her sweater.

"Only if we order from Breadstix," Rachel started, "they're the only place in town that has a decent vegan pepperoni and dairy free cheese."

Quinn glared at her and was about to say something when Santana cut in.

"It's fine, we only go there anyways," Santana laughed.

"Well then, I'd love to. I've always wanted to see where you live, and Finn is having a family dinner."

"Mike's meeting with his chemistry tutor, so I don't have anything going on tonight," Tina admitted.

"I was going to film a new episode of Fondue For Two, but Lord Tubbington stopped pooping candy bars, and isn't very talkative these days. I think he's constipated. Plus I'm mad at him, even though he's still so hot. Those poops were crispy and delicious," Brittany shrugged. "I'll be there."

"Quinn?" Santana asked cautiously, noticing that the blonde had gotten quiet about half-way through opening presents. "Are you coming? It wouldn't be the same without you."

"Yeah, sure," she said quietly. "Let's get these presents out to your car."

They arrived at the Lopez's house, gushed over the nursery, and Skyped with Sam until Santana could tell that Quinn was becoming even more uncomfortable talking about baby stuff and hanging out in the delicate pink room. She thought to her herself how beautiful it was, and exactly how she would have wanted Beth's nursery to look if she had gotten to keep her, but it just reminded her of what she had to give up. Her parents had taken even longer to come around than Santana's had, and there was no way she was going to raise a baby with a sixteen year old Puck.

"Pizza should be here any minute, let's go downstairs," Santana said, squeezing Quinn's hand and giving her a sympathetic look.

Dinner was pleasant, but Cece had to leave the room when it occurred to her that she was seeing her daughter being a kid for what could be the last time. It was hard, and she didn't want to break down in front of them. It also warmed her heart to see that she had such supportive, non-judgmental friends. Santana enjoyed herself too, and even helped Rachel put a serious dent in the vegan pizza because she found meat disgusting ever since the thirty-second week of her pregnancy when she got sick after eating her mother's beef stroganoff, which she used to love. She had to admit, it wasn't bad, and neither was Rachel, actually.

"Why don't you girls go get in your pajamas?" Cece said upon returning. "I'll clean up and pop some popcorn, and I rented Bridesmaids."

"Thanks Mrs. Lopez, I really appreciate you having us over and ordering this delicious pizza. Your house is beautiful and I'm so glad you're back in Santana's life. I'm going to hug you now," Rachel said as the other girls headed upstairs, wrapping her arms around the middle-aged woman.

"You're welcome, dear," she laughed as she hugged her back. "Thank you for being there for my girl. I am grateful she has such good friends, although I'm surprised you've never been over before."

"Santana and I haven't always been particularly close, different social circles. She is very popular, and I'm not," Rachel explained without going any further. She wasn't about to explain that this woman's daughter had made her life hell for the past three years. Cece didn't need to know that, and Santana had definely become softer since she got pregnant, so things were better.

"I better go change," she said, realizing that it had been several minutes and the other girls were probably ready. "I'll be back down in a minute."

"Are you ready yet?" Brittany asked as she tapped on the bathroom door. They were all in their pajamas waiting on her. "The popcorn is going to get cold."

"Yeah, I'll be out in a minute," Santana replied, trying to pull her top down to cover her bump. The size small maternity pajamas left a small section of her belly exposed now, as she had gotten bigger, and she was very self-conscious about it. She had been sleeping alone for a couple of months now, so it didn't really matter, and even though it was the end of October and getting cold at night, she got too hot for her other pajamas.

"You look so cute," Brittany gushed when the girl finally emerged, and reached a hand out to touch her belly.

"Ugh, I look disgusting, nothing fits," the pregnant girl whined and moved to cover herself with her hands.

"No, you really do look good," Quinn reassured her. "By the time I was that far along with Beth, my stretch marks were so bad, I wouldn't show any of my belly. You don't even have any."

"Actually, I have one," Santana admitted, pulling her top up and revealing the tiny pink line just below her belly button. It was barely a centimeter long, but when it appeared the week before, she cried about it to her mom for an hour, before eventually realizing how silly she was being. She'd caught a glimpse of Quinn changing into her Cheerios uniform last year, and she knew she was lucky in that respect.

"That's nothing," Quinn assured her, "That'll disappear in no time, all my small ones did."

The movie was funny, Santana was sure she would have enjoyed it more if she hadn't had to get up every fifteen minutes too pee, though. They offered to pause it whenever she got up, but she promised them it was okay. She was secretly texting Sam every time she left the room, and was having a hard time keeping it together. Although she was having fun with her friends, she missed him. She missed talking to him until they fell asleep, even if it was just over the phone, and she especially missed the physical contact. Even though she felt huge, and uncomfortable, and not her most beautiful in her opinion, she still had needs. She didn't care so much that she hadn't had sex since the night of the pool party, because that encounter had been really awkward with her belly. Plus they were worried about Santana's parents coming home, and Sam kept asking if "little Sam" was hurting the baby. Really though, she just missed him holding her and telling her everything would be alright, and that she was beautiful. She was trying to forget about that and enjoy herself though. These girls had been so good to her, and who knew if she was ever going to be able to do this again.

"Santana?" Quinn asked when the movie was over. "Would you like me to paint your toes? I know how hard it was to reach mine toward the end, and I would have killed to have someone do that for me," she explained sweetly.

"I'd love that," she said, trying not to cry over the gesture, and the gravity of her near future_. Damn hormones._


	19. Chapter 19

**a/n: here's chapter 19! Is anyone still reading? Lol. I don't know if there was a problem with this site, or if everyone's lost interest in this story. I actually thought the last chapter was one my best, but barely anyone read it and I didn't get any reviews for weeks after I posted it. Maybe people didn't get notifications or maybe y'all are mad at me for taking so long to update, or maybe this story has run its course. That's fine too. This was my first story, and I've had a blast writing it, and getting feedback, and seeing my writing improve over the last few chapters. Thanks for joining me, and let me know if you care whether I continue or not, or if I should wrap it up in the next couple of chapters. Once again, thanks to Starsareametaphor for beta'ing this for me and so much more. Go check her stories out, they're amazing!**

Sam received a clean bill of health just in time. Santana was thirty seven weeks pregnant, and her scheduled c-section was just one week away. She'd been having semi-weekly ultrasounds since she entered her second trimester, and so far the baby was handling everything just fine, but they didn't want to wait any longer. She was considered full-term now, and scheduling it insured that the team of specialists would be there to assist the baby right away. She was ecstatic to be around him again, even though they weren't in any of the same classes this year, and she couldn't count the times that she had craved a crisp pickle but couldn't find anyone to suck the lid off the jar. Yes, she was very much a pregnancy cliché, but she had accepted that about herself. It had been over eight weeks since she had been able to see him in person, hold his hand in the halls at school, and roll her eyes and pretend to be annoyed when he spoke Na'vi to her belly. Really, though, she thought it was adorable and with her out of control hormones, it was all she could do to keep from tearing up. Most of all, she was relieved that his infection had cleared before the baby was born. As hard as this was going to be with his his physical presence and support, the thought of him not being around for the first few weeks was unbearable.

"Going for baby number two already, are we?" Quinn joked as she approached them getting their mack on in front of Sam's locker. Hers was right next to his, and although she had accepted that her ex-boyfriend was dating and having a baby with her best frenemy, she still hadn't gotten used to it being in her face all the time.

"Fuck you, Quinn," Santana said playfully as she broke contact with her boyfriend.

"Lovely. Are you going to kiss your baby with that mouth?" Quinn purred as she smirked.

This time Santana didn't say anything, and instead showed Quinn a certain finger before turning back to Sam and seeing the look on his face. It was as if he was wondering if that could actually happen, not that he thought kissing directly lead to pregnancy. She knew he was smarter than that at least.

"Sam. I'm still pregnant, it can't happen," she laughed. He blushed as she gave him a wink. Sam began to cringe as if she could tell what he was thinking. He could be as naïve as Brittany sometimes, and every bit as adorable. It certainly couldn't be argued that Santana didn't have a type.

"Of course, I knew that," he assured her, but she wasn't convinced. "Can I walk you to your car before practice?" he asked.

"No, its fine, you're going to be late. I'll see you afterward."

He reluctantly agreed, and kissed her one more time before rushing to the locker room. He'd been out since the last week of summer, and he really needed to condition as much as possible because this weekend was going to be huge. The scout for Ohio State would be at Saturday's game, and Sam desperately needed a scholarship. So, between that, and West Side Story opening the night before, they were able to convince Dr. Wu to move the c-section to the following Monday.

Santana sighed loudly as she walked to her car. All of the other New Directions were in West Side Story, and since it was the last week before it opened, the daily rehearsals were long. They'd invited her to sit in on them, but honestly, the thought of it was a little too difficult. She knew she was born to play Anita but since she was pregnant, the role had gone to Tina. She was happy for her friends and was going to support them on opening night, but she just couldn't watch that every day. As soon as she got home, she got started on her school work. She was going to have to take the rest of the semester off and finish the rest of her curriculum at home. She knew it would be even harder to get it done once she had a baby, so she buckled down and got quite a bit of it out of the way.

The week seemed to fly by and drag on all at the same time. Santana and Sam were thrilled to be around each other again and they were incredibly busy preparing, but they were also very anxious and nervous. Of course they were excited about becoming parents by now, and they couldn't wait to meet their daughter, but they were nervous about the birth, nervous about the baby's health and all the surgeries she would face, and especially about taking this on at such a young age. Most of all they wanted to see her and hold her, and see exactly what they would be dealing with. Friday evening finally came, and Santana took Sam's breath away when he came to pick her up for their last pre-baby date.

"You look beautiful," he beamed, unable to hide the goofy smile that spread across his face.

"Thanks," she blushed. This time she didn't argue. With the way Sam was looking at her, she knew he was being sincere. The pregnancy had made her self-conscious about her looks for the first time ever, but she was sick of feeling like that. She was only going to be pregnant for the next seventy-two hours so she was going to make the best of it. Yes, she was incredibly young, but her body was doing a beautiful thing, and to be honest, she'd never felt more feminine. She'd spent an hour perfecting her hair and make-up, and earlier, she and Brittany had gone for pedicures, and the crimson maternity dress flattered her in all the right places. Red was definitely her color, and yes, she felt beautiful.

"Why aren't you eating? Are you feeling okay?" Sam asked when he noticed that he was half finished with his pasta and Santana had barely touched hers. On their last date, over the summer, she had cleared her plate and started helping herself to his in record time.

"I'm fine Sam," she sighed, but he wasn't convinced. "The baby is just pushing on everything and there's nowhere for the food to go. That's all. What is it with people giving me flack for not eating more?"

"Is that really all?" he asked.

"I'm nervous about the c-section," she admitted quietly, looking down at her plate. "It's major surgery, and what if I'm in so much pain I can't be with her when she's in the NICU? Or what if I don't get to hold her before her surgery and something, you know?" she said brokenly.

"I won't let that happen," he cut her off, reaching for her hand and rubbing his thumb over her knuckles. "I'll make sure we get to hold her and tell her we love her before they do anything. And she's going to be fine, nothing's going to happen. I promise. Babies are born with spina bifida all the time. It's scary but she's going to be okay. Y'know my mom had a c-section with Stacey. I was only eleven when she was born, but I remember it, and it didn't seem like she felt that bad after. Stacey was born early too so she spent a few days in the NICU, and my mom was there all the time."

"I hope so", she sighed. "I was reading a message board how a lot of parents had their babies baptized right after birth…. just in case," she added with a shaky voice. "I know they have Chaplains on-call but I was thinking your mom could ask Father O'Brien if he would come and do it, please?"

"You bet," he said, giving her hand a gentle squeeze for reassurance, for the both of them. He was trying to be strong her for, but he was just as scared that their daughter wouldn't be okay. "She won't need it, but if it'll make you feel better, we'll do it," he added, trying to hold back his own tears.

"My back hurts, too," she added after a few moments, trying to change the subject when she saw how torn up he looked about it too. She reached back and rubbed it when a particularly bad pain hit.

"Do you want to go home?" He asked, becoming slightly concerned. "I can set you up with a heating pad, or," he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, "since your parents are out of town for the night, run you a bath and then give you a full body massage. Are your boobs still sore too?" He added, trying to lighten the mood.

"It's fine," she assured him, laughing slightly at his last question. He was such a guy. "The back pain comes and goes, and I really want to see the show. But after it's over, I have no problems with a full body massage. Or a bath, if you join me," she whispered huskily.

"How much longer until this thing starts?" he asked eagerly, looking at his watch.

"Relax Trouty, it doesn't start for another hour. If you're a very good boy I promise to make it worth the wait," she purred, and did her best flash him a sexy smile. Santana felt so physically uncomfortable and clumsy but she knew this would be the last time, for according the the books she had read, at least six weeks that they would have any sort of intimacy. Unfortunately, since she lived with parents who liked to hover ever since she moved back home, she knew it would likely be much longer. The near future was going to be difficult in a lot of ways but she was trying to make the best of it. What she was trying to focus on was Sam; she really just wanted him to hold her tonight. She broke eye contact with her boyfriend just long enough to notice several people around them looking at her.

"Maybe we should go soon, everyone is staring," she said, suddenly feeling self-conscious again.

"They're just staring because you're gorgeous," Sam murmured, giving her hand another squeeze.

"No they're not," she said, trying to fight the tears that were once again threatening to spill out. Sam knew she was probably right, although he wasn't about to say it. It's not that he didn't find her gorgeous. He really did, more gorgeous than ever, but they were seventeen and eighteen, and looked it, even though Santana's dress was intended for someone a bit older. Lima was a very conservative mid-western town, and they both knew what everyone was thinking when they saw them.

Sam paid the tab while Santana clumsily made her way to the bathroom. She would definitely be thankful when she no longer had to pee every thirty minutes, and also looked forward to the the day when she could go to a restaurant without having to make a conscious effort to not knock anyone's drink or breadsticks off their table with her belly. Okay, so it wasn't _that_ big, but she felt like it took on a life of its' own and sometimes misjudged how far it stuck out.

Sam grasped his girlfriend's hand and led her carefully as they walked to the backstage area of the theatre. He gave her a wink and whispered reassuring words into her ear.

"It's gonna be okay," he said quietly. "Let's just go see our friends and focus on that for now. I don't want to think any further than tonight. You don't need the stress."

Santana nodded as they approached their friends. Tina waved and Santana gave her a quick hug.

"You guys were amazing! I mean, from what I saw in between pee breaks," Santana said as she smiled genuinely at her friends. "Especially you, girl Chang. I have to say, I was a little bitter that I'm too pregnant to be Anita, but you were the perfect choice."

"Thanks Santana, that means a lot coming from you. You would have been great too. Maybe there will be another musical in the spring?" Tina said hopefully.

"Yeah," Santana sighed. She doubted she'd ever have free time again, but it would have been fun. What bothered her most what that she never got involved in the arts before now. She always knew she was a good singer, but before joining the Glee club, she'd never sang in front of anyone else, so she didn't know how great she really was.

"Are you okay?" Quinn asked, when she noticed Santana wincing and grabbing the same spot for second time since she'd joined them backstage only a few minutes before.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Santana assured her a few seconds later. She tried to rub the lingering pain away when she had finally caught her breath, that last twinge had been the worst pain so far. "My back has been hurting today but it comes and goes. I'm just getting too big to move comfortably lately, it really sucks."

"Uh, Santana, have you heard about back labor?" the blonde whispered. "I didn't have it with Beth, but I remember reading about it, how the back pains come and go every few minutes like contractions…"

"Oh crap," Santana muttered when she realized that she was in labor, and had been for hours.


	20. Chapter 20

**a/n: here we go! Thanks to everyone who alerted/favorited/reviewed the last chapter, and special thanks to Starsareametaphor for beta-ing this. Sorry it took so long, but I hope it'll be worth it. I'm pretty happy with this chapter. **

"Oh crap," Santana muttered. When she heard what Quinn was suggesting, she realized that her friend was correct; she was in labor, and probably had been for hours.

"That's what I thought," the blonde said gently. Quinn quietly helped her to a chair with Tina's help. "You stay here, I'm gonna go get Sam."

Santana just rolled her eyes. Everyone in Glee knew that getting into a standing position had become difficult the last few weeks anyway, and that was before these pains started. Quinn, of all people, should have known that. She certainly wasn't going anywhere, but she knew the blonde was just trying to be helpful. One thing she was definitely feeling was scared, borderline panicked if she was heing completely honest. Yeah, it was only a few days ahead of schedule, but still it was ahead of schedule. She wasn't supposed to go into labor, that's why they had scheduled a c-section. She was supposed to enjoy one last weekend, and her mom was supposed to be there when it was time.

"It's time!" Quinn whispered into Sam's ear when she pulled him away from the group. She was trying to be as discreet as possible since she knew Santana didn't want to attract any attention.

"Time for what?" he asked, "I thought the after-party wasn't until….oh shit," he replied. His face becoming pale when the realization of what was going on suddenly hit him. He rushed over to where Santana was, almost tripping over his own feet, with the rest of the Glee club following close behind.

If hearing one of the sweetest, most polite guys in the entire school saying a four letter word didn't catch everyone else's attention, seeing him sprint to his extremely pregnant girlfriend's aid certainly did. So much for being discreet about it, but Santana didn't really care. She was scared, in pain, and was only thinking about her baby at that moment. At least Finn, Rachel, Kurt, and Blaine were nowhere to be found. She really didn't need to deal with Rachel and Kurts' dramatics, or Finn's stupidity, and she definitely didn't need to deal with Blaine's completely moronic facial expressions,his ridiculous hair, or his hideous bowties.

"Are you sure?" he asked, gently stroking her back.

Santana didn't reply but just let out a strange squeak as she nodded. Another intense pain hit her, this time it was radiating to the front of her abdomen, so agonizing that she found herself unable to say anything. She grabbed Sam's hand to squeeze it tightly for the duration of the contraction, then released it when it subsided as she panted in an attempt to keep herself from hyperventilating. Sam's face went ashen in a flash at the same time his girlfriend's frightened actions answered his question.

"Okay, I don't want to alarm you, but we really need to get going," Quinn interrupted, "It's only been about three minutes since your last contraction. I'm going to pull my car around to the back entrance since it's the closest, do you think you can walk that far?" she asked cautiously.

"Jesus, Q! I'm pregnant, I'm not a fucking cripple," Santana spat. She immediately felt Sam tense up at her words, and the room go completely silent. "Oh God, Sam! I didn't mean that, I'm in a lot of pain, and I'm scared and…." she cried at the realization of her slip.

It was something incredibly insensitive that she would have said before she found out about her daughter's potential issues without batting an eyelash, but now she felt horrible about it. As much as Sam had tried to convince her otherwise, she still wasn't completely sure that this whole experience wasn't a wicked instance of karma. She had a recent epiphany that she had been a pretty horrible person at times, before she got pregnant, but now she was trying to change to make herself better for her daughter. It was hard after seventeen years of being such a bitch, but Sam and his family had shown her more love and kindness than she'd ever been shown in her entire life; and that changed her too. It's not that her family didn't love her, they definitely did and she knew that now. The lesson learned was, simply, the Lopezes weren't as warm and affectionate as Sam's family was, but mostly they weren't around as much. She thought she had matured more than that, but apparently she hadn't, and she was mentally kicking herself for not being more sensitive, given their situation.

"I know you didn't, babe," he reassured her, wiping away her tears. "It's okay," he promised her. She took a deep breath in an attempt to calm herself and glanced over at Artie who gave her an understanding nod. "Are you ready?" Sam asked, bracing himself around her lower back and helping her to her feet.

Puck got on her other side for support, and the rest of the group followed as they slowly made their way to the parking lot, pausing several times for contractions. The ride to the hospital was miserable. It was normally only about fifteen minutes but, but due to road construction, took more than twice as long and Santana could feel every bump and pothole they went over in agonizing detail. Her contractions were getting stronger and seemed to be coming even closer together, and then her water broke, all over the back seat of Quinn's car. It smelled horrible, and Puck was gagging and sticking his head out the window. Sam was trying his best not to, while Quinn was trying to act like it didn't bother her at all. Clearly it did, even though she had leather seats and it wouldn't be all that difficult to clean. Santana would have thought the whole thing was hilarious if she wasn't so scared.

By the time they arrived at the hospital the pain had gone from an annoying cramp in her back, to an almost perpetual searing, twisting, pulling, stabbing, nauseating ache. She was trembling and her teeth were chattering, even though it felt like it was about one hundred degrees in the car. She'd never felt less in control, and it seriously sucked.

The receptionist in the emergency room was unnervingly cheerful, and just a complete fucking moron, in Santana's humble opinion.

"Hello, and welcome to Lima Memorial, how can I help you?" She beamed, and Santana wanted to smack that stupid smile off her face. Seriously, what was _with _receptionists?

Instead, she just sighed dramatically as she grimaced and gestured to her large belly.

"Right, of course! What's your name dear?" the receptionist inquired.

No sooner had she given her name than two nurses that she hadn't even noticed, rushed over with a wheelchair, both whispering to the receptionist that the young woman in front of them was Dr. Lopez's daughter and that she shouldn't be kept waiting. She was immediately brought up to labor and delivery and given a gown. It was all embarrassing and made her feel like a complete invalid, but the contractions were right on top of each other by then so she had to ask Sam to help her change. Everything was blurring together and things were happening so fast, but she vaguely remembers strong arms helping her onto the bed and, and few more pairs of arms flying around her to attach multiple wires and monitors, and suddenly, before she even got the chance to say "ow', there was an I.V. in her hand. She was kind of glad about that part, she really hated needles.

Dr. Wu came in when she was experiencing yet another series of contractions, the worst ones yet. He was between her legs performing a cervical exam while she was grunting, panting and making all kinds of noises that scared the crap out of Sam as she attempted not to writhe around on the bed too much when Mary walked in, getting an eye-full of what Santana used to think of as her private parts.

"I'm so sorry," Mary whispered. She felt badly for walking in during such a very personal moment.

Santana just bawled. She was so relieved to see the older woman, and reached her hands toward her, indicating that she needed a hug. She really didn't care how she looked or felt at that moment. She realized months ago, after she and Sam and watched some truly disgusting birthing videos, that she'd have to let go of what little modesty she had left, and considering she walked into the hospital with the back of her dress completely soaked, and then had to have someone help her undress, having the woman she has come to think of as her second mother see that didn't bother her all that much. She was just really glad she was there, and she hugged her and cried on her shoulder and didn't want to let go.

"How are you doing?" Mary asked, breaking the embrace when she realized they both needed air.

"She's nine centimeters, almost ten," Dr. Wu said matter-of-factly, "I can feel the head. I'm going to page the neurosurgeon and the neonatologist then get a team of nurses, and then she can start pushing."

"Oh no, no, no! Hell no! I'm having a c-section," Santana insisted. "I've accepted that, and gotten used to the idea, and I even bought a tube of Mederma to fade the scar. I thought you….." she paused and groaned through another wave of contractions. "I thought you and Dr. McClain said a c-section would be best for the baby," she panted loudly.

"The reason for the c-section is mostly so that we can schedule the birth and get her out before the hydrocephalus causes too much damage. It also ensures that the team of specialists is on hand. Most studies do show that a vaginal birth can be just as safe though," he assured her. "This baby is coming on her own, and very soon".

"Fuck this shit," she groaned, "Well I'm gonna need drugs then."

"I'm sorry Santana, but you've missed the window," he said sympathetically.

"What?" She cried. "What window?"

"The window for the epidural. You've progressed too far, it's too late, and the window is closed."

"Well then open it!" She demanded, as another searing pain ripped through her body.

"I can't, it's closed. Locked. The key has been thrown away. I'm sorry. The good news is that this is the worst the pain gets, and you've made it through the hardest part already. Many women find pushing to be a relief, actually," he explained.

"Why don't you try pushing a watermelon out of your dick and see how relieved you feel?" she hissed. Another wave of pain hit her causing her eyes to fill with tears. Santana clenched her jaw as she tried to focus all her power on the task she needed to complete.

The usually calm boy beside her ran his fingers through his disheveled hair and exhaled loudly along with her. He tried to smile but as hard as she was squeezing his other hand, it only turned into a grimace.

"I'm sorry, Sam! I can't do this, this really fucking blows," she whimpered. She let go of him, and covered her face with her hands as she collapsed back into her pillow in a fit of tears.

"Yes you can," Sam encouraged as he placed a kiss on each of her fingers. "You're almost there, and I'm so proud of you. Look at me," he said, taking her face in his hands. "God, you're so beautiful," he said as he pushed a sweaty piece of hair out of her face, and she shot him a look that said she was not in the mood for any of his crap.

"It's true," he promised her, his eyes not straying from hers. "And more importantly, you are the strongest, most amazing person I know. You've been incredible through this whole thing and now we're at the finish line. Just hang in there for a little while longer and we'll get to meet our daughter. Can you do that for her?"

"I can," Santana squeaked. How could she not when he put it that way? She hadn't even met her daughter yet, and she knew she'd do absolutely anything for her.

"I'm gonna go suit up and call the team, and then we'll get to show on the road," Dr. Wu smiled. Santana felt like she was going to throw up.

"Where's my mom?" Santana asked. When she had been able to focus on the inhabitants of the room around her, she suddenly realized that her own parents hadn't made an appearance yet.

"I called your parents as soon as Sam told me you were in labor. They're on their way, should be about another hour," Mary explained to Santana. She immediately noticed the disappointed expression on the girl's face. "They'll be here," she said, squeezing the girl's hand, and hoping with everything she had that they would do as they promised. Mary loved Santana dearly and she knew Santana loved her, but Santana really needed her own mother at an emotional time like this.

It seemed like an eternity before Dr. Wu returned with the specialized team ready to do their duty. With Mary along with a nurse holding her legs back, and a shell-shocked Sam by her side applying a damp washcloth to her forehead, she finally began pushing with all her might. She was more exhausted than she had ever been, still incredibly nauseous, and she couldn't focus on anything but the searing pain. In between the contractions and panic, her mom was suddenly by her side clutching her other hand as Dr. Wu said the head was almost out.

Two earnest pushes later, the baby was out. The room went silent as she was handed to a nurse, rushed to an incubator and a collective breath was held. Sam and the two new grandmothers craned their necks trying to see anything while Santana closed her eyes and silently prayed. It wasn't a very eloquent prayer, she knew that. It was certainly an honest one since the only thing going through her head was _please__, __please__, __please_, but it was the single thought she was focused on at the moment. She hoped it was enough to help her innocent child. Finally there was a shrill cry from the incubator and a profoundly relieved one from the new family. Sam kissed her cheek, and she could feel his tears falling on her face too. She tried to keep some composure as she heard relieved sobs from the hallway, and knew immediately that they were her father's. He was such an emotionally strong man, and she'd never heard him become moved like that, but she knew without a doubt that it was him. It was really hard to hear.

It was several scary and uncomfortably long minutes before they finally got a glimpse of their daughter. She was brought over, and placed on Santana's chest, much to their surprise. The baby, who seemed to know exactly who her mother was, calmed down as soon as she was in her arms. Her back was wrapped in plastic, and underneath, they could see the bundle of nerves spilling out from the opening, and she was more incredible than they had imagined. She was tiny, and warm, and she had the most gorgeous lips and a full head of dark hair. She looked at Santana with eyes that were so bright, so trusting, and so unmistakably Sam's, and that is when the new mother completely lost it.

All those times when she thought her situation had sunk in hadn't meant a thing. She was now holding undeniable proof that her life would never be the same, that she would be linked to Sam forever and that they would be a family for better or worse. Not that it was a bad thing, necessarily. Sam was sweet, attentive, understanding, conscientious, and pretty damn good as far as high school boyfriends went, and she was sure she loved him, especially now. But she also knew she was just seventeen, and he was eighteen, and who knew what the future held? Santana certainly didn't. She'd face it all with Sam, now that they were permanently connected, the good and the bad. She'd make all her decisions with him, and while she was relieved that she'd always have someone with her, she was most assuredly completely terrified. She had other people to consider now. This emotional connection shit was real.

It took what seemed like forever, but the new mother finally regained her composure. "I-is she okay?" Santana stuttered.

"She's stable, we have to prep her for surgery soon, but for now she can be held, and kissed, and cuddled," the nurse explained gently.

"We're not going to hurt her?" Sam murmured.

"No, just hold her like you're doing and she'll be fine," she added.

"Hi Gabi," Santana whispered through her tears as she kissed the baby's forehead. "I'm so glad you're here."

"What's her name?" the nurse asked.

"Gabriella," Santana said, and Sam nodded in approval. "Gabriella Hope." They loved that it meant 'God is my strength', they both agreed that they liked the way it sounded, it was the one name Santana kept going back to, and she just _looked _like a Gabi. It felt right.

The nurse smiled widely, "I think that's a beautiful name."

"Beautiful name for a beautiful girl," Sam replied, stroking Gabi's tiny arm, and then allowing her hand to wrap around his finger. "I love you both so much. Thank you for doing this, Santana, she's just…perfect," he wept. He kissed his daughter and then his girlfriend.

Santana had to agree, everything about her daughter _was _perfect. Despite the fact that she always thought it was a cheesy load of crap that naïve, dorky losers talked about, she now believed in love at first sight. She loved all of her daughter's features from the top of her head to the tip of her toes, a perfect combination of the best of both parents.

Suddenly it was as if all the noises, all the people, all the annoying machines had faded away and it was just Santana, Sam and their daughter. _Their __daughter_! She still couldn't believe it, but here the tiny little miracle was. This amazing little person that she had just met, who fit perfectly in her arms and seemed like she'd always been there, whose lips were the perfect blend of 'pouty' and 'trouty', who she loved so much it made her heart hurt. Gabriella and Sam had enriched her life more than she could have ever imagined.

Someday she'd have to thank Rachel for throwing that stupid train-wreck of a party_. _S_omeday__._

The end.

**a/n: The end of part one anyway! There WILL be a sequel. This was my first story, and while I'm pretty proud of it as a whole, and the fact that I've completed one, it was still my first story, so some of the earlier chapters are embarrassing. The OCD in me also likes the idea of it having a nice, even 20 chapters, and I think it's good to end this on a positive note. There will be drama in the sequel, of course, but it won't ALL be drama. Thank you for sticking with me through this journey, and especially to those of you who alerted/favorited/and reviewed. It's what kept me going when I had writer's block or when some of the chapters were particularly hard to write. An extra special thank you to Starsareametaphor for beta-ing the last few chapters for me. She is amazing, and I only wish I had found her sooner. I hope you all let me know what you think, as this is the last chapter and I'd love to hear from you, and then go to profile and vote on what you'd like the sequel to be called. When I get it up, I will make a post about it so you'll all be able to find it. xoxo**


	21. Sequel

Hey guys, I finally posted the first chapter of the sequel. It's called "What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Stronger". I hope you'll join me!


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